Massey Harris Tractors

In 1891, Massey Manufacturing Company from Toronto merged with the A. Harris, Son and Company of Ontario. When Massey Harris became involved in the tractor market, it wasn't until the first World War, because the tractor marketplace was just in beginning stages. The Canadian company got their start by manufacturing American tractors that were designed by companies in America without a plant.

The Massey Harris tractors from those early days were the Parrett tractor, the Bull Tractor and the Wallis 20-30. Even the first Massey Harris number two tractor was designed by Parrett, under license. While the Massey Harris Pacemaker was popular in the mid-1930s, other models like the Little Pony and the Massey Harris 30 standard or row crop tractors became one of the more popular Massey Harris tractors. When the Massey Harris 55 was released, it was the biggest wheel tractor on the market at its time in 1946.

These later Massey Harris tractors are some of the more recognizable tractors. Some of the earlier models had metal spiked wheels with no tires. Through these early manufacturing days, they learned to take other tractor designers and improve on newer tractor models, using their manufacturing plant. These smaller tractor companies from America struggled, while Massey Harris grew bigger with their own lines.

By the time Harry Ferguson became involved with Massey Harris in 1953, he was well capitalized with his own tractor company in Europe, and the settlement from Ford with over a million dollars paid in a lawsuit settlement, which was a considerable sum for the time. Since Harry Ferguson was the engineer of the three point hitch, that allowed all kinds of farm implements to be hooked to tractors, Massey Harris took him on willingly as a partner in an effort to expand.

It was during this time that the company name became shortened to Massey Ferguson, even though some of the Massey Harris tractors were still quite popular. Now they have become collector's items that are highly sought and easily recognizable by their different name and logo.

Many antique tractor collectors are looking for these earlier tractors, and many of them were abandoned on farms for more practical models that came along later. While many of them have been restored, there are still some that are on old farms that were long abandoned during numerous farming crisises.

Our website offers a comprehensive and nationwide venue that features the listings of the private sellers and dealers that have all kinds of tractors for sale. When you are looking for the earlier Massey Harris tractors, the beginning of the restoration process is finding the listing of the ones that are for sale. Even ones that have already been restored can be difficult to find, if you don't know where to look. Some collectors spend days and weeks looking through endless websites, but we offer an easy and quick way to find the listings that are in the marketplace.

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