This blog post was originally posted on the Machinefinder blog. View the full article here.

Though John Deere fashioned his first polished-steel plow in Grand Detour, Illinois, in 1837, the evolution of his company took years and remained a small operation for quite some time. By the time he had employed 16 people, the operation was without a name and a logo.

However, in 1868, more than 31 years after John Deere’s operation started as a partnership or single proprietorship, it was incorporated under the name Deere & Company.

The company existed for several years and after a brief spell of success, and then failure, the operations began to solidify and consolidate in Illinois. In 1876, after some deliberation, John Deere registered a logo, the “leaping deer” trademark.