The Good Ol' Oliver

Hey y'all! Welcome to the Mornings on the Ranch Blog! Today, we are going to be talking about the vintage 1974 Oliver Tractor at the ranch and diving into the history of the Oliver Farm Equipment Company.

When we bought our ranch, in 2022, the previous owner had this tractor (and a lot of other things she didn't want to keep) on the property. We ended up buying it from her, along with the house & land. Due to many years of neglect, the tractor didn't work, and we committed to bringing it back to life. First, we had to replace the gearing to the PTO. Then, we purchased a new rear tire because the previous one was dry rotted. After these repairs, the good ol' Oliver was restored. We used it to plow the fields. Its slow speed and nostalgic throaty rumble make it an absolute joy to ride on! Now, the Oliver is still able to do its work, plowing through the fields, but it also serves as a backdrop for photography or filming sessions.

The Oliver Farm Equipment Company was created in 1929 through the merging of four smaller companies: Oliver Chilled Plow Company, Hart-Parr Tractor Company, American Seeding Machine Company, and Nichols and Shepard Company. This created a much larger company that was able to focus on the farm equipment space as a whole. The company's first tractor, Oliver 18-28, was released in 1930. In 1944, the company was renamed to the Oliver Corporation. Their peak years in production and sales were 1948-1952. The White Motor Corporation merged into the Oliver Corporation in 1960. Sadly, in 1976, the end of an era was marked when the company branded their last tractor. However, the legacy of the company still lives on today as their farm equipment is still heavily relied on today, like our 1974 Oliver Tractor.

Thank you for reading!