A new venue and outlook have brought new life to an annual show celebrating a rare line of tractors: Plymouth and Silver King. The president of the Silver Kings of Yesteryear Tractor Club in Plymouth, Ohio, says the change paid off, drawing a bigger and more enthusiastic crowd.
“We got great comments from first-time attendees and regulars,” says club President Jim Dierksheide. “They especially enjoyed the spacious park facilities.”
First held in 1990, the show celebrated the lines’ hometown of Plymouth. In 1991, the Silver King Club was established. Originally co-sponsored by the Plymouth Chamber of Commerce, the event was part of the community’s annual Fireman’s Festival.
But as the years passed, times changed. The Chamber disbanded, and with waning community support, the firemen ended their involvement. As club members watched the event stagnate, it was apparent that they couldn’t keep doing what they had been doing.
New site is a link to the past
Committed to the local heritage event, the club’s first step was a change of venue. The show had been held in a small area with no room for expansion. The Mary Fate Park at the north edge of the village was selected for the 2023 event. The park offered more space, shelters and shade and could accommodate food trucks and vendors.
Located on land donated in memory of Mary Fate, the park is a fitting site for the tractor show. Mary Fate’s husband, J.D. Fate, was a partner in Fate-Root-Heath Co., manufacturer of Plymouth and Silver King tractors.
Expanded to two days, the 2023 show offered a swap meet, a picnic with live music and line dancing, and a member breakfast on Saturday morning. In addition to tractor displays, Fate-Root-Heath farm equipment – like hand-crank corn shellers – was showcased. And a variety of merchandise was emblazoned with Plymouth and Silver King tractors. The formula was successful in creating new momentum and enthusiasm.
Desperation move results in launch of new tractor line
The Plymouth/Silver King tractor can be traced to the late 1800s when J.D. Fate built clay-extruding machinery for brick production. In 1909, Fate launched Plymouth Truck Co., using the trade name Plymouth. The company folded just six years later, in 1915.
Fate also manufactured locomotives. That business prevailed due to greater investment of time and resources. In 1919, the J.D. Fate Co. merged with Root-Heath Mfg. Co. to form Fate-Root-Heath Co. Production of switch engines (known as Plymouth locomotives) for rail yards became a successful enterprise for this newly formed company.
But as the Great Depression dragged on, orders for locomotives slowed dramatically. The company’s brain trust developed a game plan to keep the factory running. With Plymouth being located in fertile north central Ohio farmland, the company focused on building an affordable tractor.
The company’s production capabilities were adequate, but engineering was an obstacle. They first built a big, bulky tractor that emulated a locomotive. During the Depression, engineering jobs were scarce. This brought qualified engineers to the Plymouth manufacturing site looking for work – and those engineers developed a practical farm workhorse, the Plymouth tractor.
The tractor was designed for farms of 60 acres or less. Rated for a one-bottom plow, the Plymouth could turn 5 acres in a 10-hour day. The tractor was also suited for use as a backup on larger farms. Newly available rubber tires were offered as an option, and the tractor had an unheard-of 25mph road speed.
Name claims drive legal battle
Chrysler Corp. took notice of the Plymouth tractor’s high road speed – and its name. In 1934, Fate-Root-Heath and Chrysler drew battle lines over use of the Plymouth name. Chrysler claimed first rights to the Plymouth name but was then made aware that Fate-Root-Heath had built a prototype Plymouth automobile prior to Chrysler’s use of the name.
Negotiations turned in favor of Fate-Root-Heath. An undisclosed settlement was reached, giving Chrysler exclusive use of the Plymouth name on rubber-tired vehicles. Fate-Root-Heath retained the right to use the Plymouth trademark on their steel-wheeled locomotives.
Renaming the tractor became a contentious issue. As Fate-Root-Heath considered possibilities, an obvious choice became apparent. The Plymouth tractor was painted silver, and its proud engineers referred to their tractor as “king of the field.” As a result, the tractor became the Silver King. All tractors built after serial number 314 carried the Silver King name. Under the new nameplate, the company added enhancements, including a single-front-wheel option.
The Silver King became popular as a powerful and versatile small tractor. At the onset of World War II, the government’s demand for war materiel dictated that production facilities at Fate-Root-Heath support the war effort. And after the war ended, orders for small locomotives increased. Tractor production was put on the back burner. Ultimately, the hand-built Silver King could not compete with tractors built on an assembly line, and production was discontinued.
By the early 1950s, Fate-Root-Heath management had closed the tractor division. Mountain State Fabricating Co., Clarksburg, West Virginia, assumed Silver King tractor tooling and production. This company had sprung up during the war years through government contracts. Unfortunately, the company struggled to stay in business in the peacetime economy. Mountain State produced approximately 100 tractors before returning the remaining parts to Plymouth, Ohio.
Uninterested in resuming tractor production, Fate-Root-Heath dumped the surplus parts at a local junkyard. It is estimated that 8,700 tractors were built under the Plymouth and Silver King name. Like many small tractor companies, Fate-Root-Heath made a positive impact on agriculture for a short period of time.
Collector displays shine at new show
Although the number of Plymouth and Silver King tractors displayed at the Plymouth show had declined in recent years, the change of venue in 2023 drew 42 tractor displays.
The 1935 Silver King, owned by Ray Perry, Sycamore, Ohio, made a very unique display equipped with skeleton steel wheels with interchangeable lugs. The owner claimed it could plow 5 acres in a 10-hour day using 3-1/2 quarts of fuel per hour.
Jim Hart from Grand Ledge, Michigan, displayed a 1934 Plymouth Model R38 tractor. “Records show this to be the 13th Plymouth tractor manufactured by Fate-Root-Heath,” he says. “I bought it in 1965 from the original owner.” After that initial purchase, he added 10 more Plymouth/Silver King tractors to his collection.
James Fred, Rochester, Indiana, showed a family heirloom. “My grandfather, who collected unusual tractors, acquired this Plymouth Model R38 in the early 1990s,” he says. “Our family owns 40 Plymouth/Silver King tractors. Among those, one Plymouth and four Silver King tractors are part of my personal collection.”
From nearby Willard, Ohio, Ray Baxter brought an early tractor from a family member’s dealership. “My father, Ken Baxter, was a small tractor dealer for Fate-Root-Heath,” he says. “He operated the business as Ken’s Garage and sold only a few tractors. My 1949 Silver King Model 349 originated through his dealership. The tractor gets regular use on the farm grain auger.”
Jim Dierksheide brought two Silver King tractors to the show: a 1946 Model 346 and a 1935 Model R38. “The Model 346 was a basket case before I restored it,” he says. “It’s been a handy tractor to use around the farm for small jobs. The Model R38 came by way of Oregon but originated in Arizona. I was able to get it running condition as well.”
Kevin Oney, Greenwich, Ohio, displayed his very rare 1948 Silver King Model 47 tractor. Following his restoration, Kevin added a side-mounted mower. The combined tractor-mower unit was designed for highway mowing, accounting for the pair’s yellow color scheme. FC
The 34th annual Silver King Festival will be held Aug. 2-3, 2024, at Mary Fate Park in Plymouth, Ohio. For more information, contact Jim Dierksheide, president of the Silver Kings of Yesteryear Club, (419) 575-3020; Email: jwdierksheide@yahoo.com.
Freelance writer Fred Hendricks of Mansfield, Ohio, covers a vast array of subjects relating to agriculture. Email Fred at fwhendricks@gmail.com.
