I was recently at a farm auction. Farmers were bidding on a Farmall 560 Diesel. A little girl asked, “Daddy, who invented the tractor?” Dad replied, “Some guy over in Iowa. It was over 100 years ago.” Yes, Dad had that correct. That guy was John Froelich, and the year was 1892. The place was Froelich, Iowa, in Clayton County, tucked in the northeastern corner of Iowa.
John Froelich paved the way for modern farming. He produced the first successful gasoline tractor that could go forward and backward. That’s one speed forward at about 2mph and one slow speed in reverse. Froelich was a busy man at the time, running a grain elevator, a well-digging outfit, and a straw-burning steam traction engine and threshing rig.
Young Froelich grew up in the town named for his father, Henry Froelich. In 1890, John Froelich purchased a 4.5hp Charter horizontal stationary gasoline engine, which he mounted on his well-drilling outfit, giving John the idea of using gasoline power for a tractor for threshing grain.

Froelich’s first tractor was a large, one-cylinder, Van Duzen vertical engine. This engine was mounted on laminated wooden beams, bearings and gears from the Robinson Co., which manufactured steam engines. Froelich’s employee, William Mann, assisted him with the invention. Mann recalled, “Many parts were designed by Froelich and me.” The 1892 tractor was listed as 20hp with a 14″ bore, 14″ stroke, single cylinder, vertical type engine. He took his invention to a nearby farm, substituting his tractor in place of a steam engine and threshed some grain. Inspired, Froelich shipped his tractor to South Dakota and connected it to a J.I. Case threshing machine, where it threshed out 72,000 bushels of grain over 72 days.
The new gasoline engine was smaller, lighter, cheaper, safer and easier to care for compared to the massive steam tractors of the day. Steam engines were hard to maneuver and threatened to set fire to grain in the fields.
Froelich secured the backing of investors and founded the Waterloo Gasoline Traction Engine Co., at Waterloo, Iowa, on January 10, 1893, for $50,000. Early efforts to build a practical, workable tractor failed. Two were sold, but they didn’t work well and were returned. The company decided to manufacture stationary gas engines to pay the bills. The first gasoline engine in operation was installed in the Waterloo Courier newspaper press room in February 1894. During this time there was a financial depression. John Froelich lost all the money and equity he had invested and left the company in 1895. He likely felt devastated after having to leave his tractor behind.
The Waterloo Gasoline Engine Co. reorganized on November 10, 1895. They continued to build stationary engines, where the demand was great. The Waterloo Co. came out with its Model L-A. Twenty tractors were sold. The first Waterloo Boy Tractor, the Model R single speed, debuted in 1914. Sales reached 114 units sold. The Model N featured two speeds forward, and it was a big-time success. In the spring of 1920, the Model N Waterloo Boy was the first tractor to complete the newly formed Nebraska Tractor Test.

WWI brought a rise in farm prices and a demand for dependable mechanical power on the farm. The John Deere Co., in Moline, Illinois, had a full line of farm machines but nothing to pull them. In 1918, Deere bought the Waterloo Co. for over two million dollars, and they made improvements to the design. By 1921, the Waterloo Boy was top dog, touted as a two-bottom tractor. Farmers said it could handle a three-bottom plow. Best of all, it operated on kerosene, which was cheaper than gasoline. Later, this company would become John Deere Tractor Works.
Froelich, Iowa, didn’t forget about their namesake. They honored John Froelich in 1939 with a commemoration ceremony, constructed a memorial to his achievements, and attached a plaque to the monument. His son, Clarence, gave a speech to 2,000 people in attendance.
Fall-Der-All
The Froelich Foundation was formed to keep the memory of the tractor inventor alive. A great deal of credit is due the Foundation for rescuing the store building from being wrecked and for preserving a very important part of U.S. agricultural history that was nearly lost. They operate the Village Museum Site from the second weekend in May until the last full weekend in September when they celebrate the Fall-Der-All. They’re also open the first two weekends in October.

The 20 Froelich residents are joined by hundreds of tourists and old-iron aficionados. Visitors can tour the 1891 Burlingame General Store and Post Office, replica displays of John Froelich’s first tractor, an 1866 one-room school, blacksmith shop, railroad depot, flea market and a 1903 vintage barn. The museum is full of items of historical interest, including many tractor history pictures, videos and other memorabilia. The writing on the 1866 one-room school blackboard is the original from 1906.
It’s a grand affair, with food served in the barn, hit-and-miss engines, plowing and threshing demonstrations, rope making, wood carvers, apple cider press, wool spinning and kids’ barrel rides. There’s a full lineup of tractors, vendors and a farmers market. Kids can compete in a pedal tractor pull contest. Saturday features a 3-hour tractor ride and a side-by-side ride.

Parker Klingman, from Strawberry Point, Iowa, takes cream, salt and ice and turns out a batch of ice cream every 20 minutes with his old-fashioned ice cream maker powered by a 1/2hp Briggs and Stratton WMB gasoline engine.
A full-scale replica of the Froelich tractor is on display at the John Deere Museum at Waterloo, Iowa. However, the Froelich Museum has a half-scale model, built just in time for the 1992 Centennial celebration. Also, a three-quarter scale replica is in the blacksmith shop. The three-quarter scale replica is started up every year during Fall Der All.
John Froelich-Later Life
Of the 14 known patents John Froelich received throughout his lifetime, there were many directly connected to his first tractor invention. Once anyone applied for a patent and submitted their application, it took around three years to receive the patent.
Patents connected to his tractor include: a better governing apparatus and mechanism for supplying gasoline to the carburetor, a method to prevent the flooding of gas or other explosive engines, new and useful improvements in internal combustion engines, a water-cooling radiator for internal combustion engines, and a more easily and completely controlled steering gear for row crop tractors.
There was a financial depression in 1895. John Froelich lost all the money and equity of his grain mill, elevator business and home at Froelich. Imagine having a family and trying to start over again.

In 1896, John Froelich moved with his wife and four children to Dubuque then Marshalltown. He worked as an engineer in the Novelty Iron Works, which manufactured gasoline engines. During this time, he tried to organize a company to manufacture stationary engines but was unsuccessful. Eventually, Froelich and his family moved to Saint Paul, Minnesota, where he subsequently was employed by several different companies. First, he worked for a company owned by his brother Gottlieb Froelich, which manufactured washing machines. Froelich developed a new type of clothes-washing machine named the Froelich Neostyle Washer.
In the years that followed, Froelich changed jobs frequently and his career had its ups and downs. By 1910, he was vice president of the Henderson-Froelich Manufacturing Co. A year later, he worked as a machinist at G.N. Helgeson Machine Shop. Then he worked for Hackney Manufacturing Co., a maker of farm implements. At this job, he was listed as a draftsman, but was probably a designer and inventor. By 1920, he was working for Ventilating Engineers & Manufacturing Co., which made blowers and air conditioning devices. His last job was as president of the Security Construction & Investment Co. He was successful at this job, because he was able to accumulate some wealth in his final years. All these jobs and companies were in Saint Paul.
John Froelich’s contribution to the invention of the first gasoline tractor had a great impact on farming and changed and improved the agricultural industry. Froelich passed away in 1933 at age 83. He’s remembered as a great inventor.
My thanks to Denise Schutte for her many contributions to this story.
Contact information: Froelich Foundation & Museum, 24397 Froelich Rd, McGregor, Iowa. 52157 (563) 880-1525. Website: www.froelichtractor.com. Contact person: Denise Schutte. Email: FroelichTractor1892@yahoo.com.
Larry Scheckel is a retired teacher who grew up on a family farm in the hill country of southwestern Wisconsin. Contact him at LScheckel@charter.net or at LarryScheckel.com