Outside the Box: The Heider Tractor

By Bill Vossler
Published on March 10, 2015
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As demonstrated by this 1925 Rock Island-Heider Model C, Heider tractors were eye-catching, with red wheels and lime green bodies accentuated by red and yellow stripes.
As demonstrated by this 1925 Rock Island-Heider Model C, Heider tractors were eye-catching, with red wheels and lime green bodies accentuated by red and yellow stripes.
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This ad features Models C and D Heiders, and the line's famous
This ad features Models C and D Heiders, and the line's famous "seven forward and seven reverse gears."
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This 1915 photo shows a Heider tractor at work in the field.
This 1915 photo shows a Heider tractor at work in the field.
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The chain drive is clearly visible in this photo of Marvin Stochl's 1911 Heider Model A.
The chain drive is clearly visible in this photo of Marvin Stochl's 1911 Heider Model A.
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In this undated photo, a farmer gets the feeling of how the Heider handles on rough ground.
In this undated photo, a farmer gets the feeling of how the Heider handles on rough ground.
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A close-up of the driver's area in the 1925 Rock Island-Heider Model C.
A close-up of the driver's area in the 1925 Rock Island-Heider Model C.
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The Heider is proclaimed
The Heider is proclaimed "The Veteran of American Power Farming" in this ad for 12-20 and 9-16 tractors.

Heider Manufacturing Co., Carroll, Iowa, was a curious tractor company for several reasons. First, because of the time it took inventor H.J. Heider to create its first tractor; second, because of the unique drive system he used for the Heider; third, because of the company’s brief tenure in the tractor business; and fourth, because of the extensive amount of time the Heider tractor was manufactured by another company.

Brothers join forces

H.J. (Henry) Heider farmed in southern Minnesota, where at age 21 he was awarded his first patent (of 20) for a four-horse evener. He ran a successful repair business until 1903, when he outgrew his capacity to farm, repair and invent, because of the high demand for his evener. At that point, he and his older brother, John (an accountant), went into business together, forming Heider Mfg. Co., Albert Lea, Minnesota.

The young company quickly outgrew its small shop. In 1904, the brothers incorporated and sold stock valued at $18,000 to build a full-size, concrete-block factory in Carroll, Iowa, more centrally located for their trade. There they could expand to meet the demands of their new business.

They manufactured eveners up to six-horse capacity, as well as double- and single-tree yokes and step- and extension-ladders to use up their scrap lumber. The ladders sold so well that, in 1906, they could afford to buy a new 10 hp Lambert engine to aid in the factory work. In 1908, they bought a 25 hp Lambert engine. These engines – built by Buckeye Mfg. Co., Anderson, Indiana – would be important in the later development of Heider tractors.

Slow-building a tractor

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