Russell & Co. tantalized prospective equipment buyers by catering to their wishes for easy-working, quality-built machinery, as this ad from the May 1916 American Thresherman shows. And if that wasn’t enough to whet farmers’ appetites, the firm’s ‘seventy-five years of merit’ may have provided enough clout to rope in a prospective customer.
Organized in 1842 by brothers Charles, Nahum and Clement Russell at Massillon, Ohio, the firm began with a simple grain thresher.
Carpenters by trade, the brothers continued their furniture business until the firm became more prosperous. In 1878 Nahum ascended as president just as the firm incorporated. Russell became widely known for its popular steam engines, mostly noted for their eccentric valve gear.
Russell became a supplier of ruggedly built tractors in 1909 and offered many different models until the firm was sold at auction in March 1927, providing repair parts until 1942 when the firm closed for good.
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