Minneapolis Moline Power Implement Company Collection
M/A 2000.157.01
Minneapolis Moline Power Implement Company Collection
M/A 2000.157.01
Creator:
Minneapolis-Moline Company.
Title:
Minneapolis Moline Power Implement Company Collection
Dates:
1927-1969
Quantity:
7.0 boxes
Repository:
James K. Hosmer Special Collections Library
History
The Minneapolis Moline Power Implement Company started in 1929. A merger between the Moline Plow Co. (est. 1852), Minneapolis Threshing Co. (est. 1887), and the Minneapolis Steel and Threshing Co. (est. 1902) prompted the creation of Minneapolis Moline Power Implement Company. Warren C. Macfarlane, the future president of the company, led the merger negotiations. The company's factory operations began in south Minneapolis, near Lake Street and Minnehaha Avenue. Minneapolis Moline specialized in the manufacturing of a variety of farm equipment including tractors, combines, threshing machines, tillage tools, shellers, harvesters, manure spreaders, and so on.
Minneapolis Moline played a large role globally. The company led in technological innovation and production for farm equipment on an international scale. The company especially prospered during the 1930s-1940s, and became one of the largest farm equipment manufacturers in the world.
At the outbreak of World War II, Minneapolis Moline also took a major role in the war effort. In 1940, the company created the "Jeep," which saw significant use by the U.S. Army. During the same year, the company opened a new factory in Hopkins, Minnesota, and manufactured massive amounts of munitions and military equipment to both the U.S. Army and U.S. Navy., which continued through the duration of the war.
Minneapolis Moline continued to do well into the 1950s, especially with the creation of a number of highly popular harvester machines. Despite this success, however, the profitability and demand for mass produced farm equipment began to wane into the l960s. In 1962, the White Motor Company of Lansing, Michigan merged with Minneapolis Moline, and set an agenda of manufacturing trucks instead of farm equipment. Much of the manufacturing capital of the company became obsolete or unneeded with this move, and the White Motor Company failed to find subtenants to fill this void. This brought sudden decline to the company as a whole. In 1972, the Minneapolis plant closed and the following year was torn down, ending the Minneapolis Moline legacy.
Collection Description
The collection consists of three boxes and four scrapbooks. The first box contains various clippings, advertisements, and booklets. A number of papers and correspondence also detail the 1929 merger of the company. The second and third box contains farm machinery price lists, catalogs, and advertisements. These materials span the years 1927-1969. The scrapbooks consist of newspaper clippings from newspapers, such as the Minneapolis Tribune, Minneapolis Journal, Wall Street Journal, and others. The four scrapbooks cover the following years: 1916-1954, 1929-1932, 1932-1944, and 1943-1954.
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