The Prairie Gold Rush

The first, the finest, and the original magazine for all Twin City, Minneapolis and Moline enthusiasts.

Your source for all things Minneapolis-Moline.

A quarterly magazine published by:

Martin Johnson & Rachel Knudson
PO Box 67
Hartland, MN 56042
507.845.2554

 

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A Brief History

The Minneapolis Moline Power Implement Company was established in 1929. It was formed by the union of three agricultural companies which were:

- Moline Plow Company, est. 1852 - formerly Candee & Swan.
- Minneapolis Threshing Company, est. 1887 - formerly Fond du Lac Thresher / McDonald Threshing Co.
- Minneapolis Steel & Machinery Company, est. 1902 - formerly Twin City Iron Works & Minnesota Malleable Iron Works, division of Gillette-Herzog Manufacturing.


The new Minneapolis Moline Co. was now equipped to survive current economical hardships as a full line supplier with an impressive list of tillage tools, cornshellers, threshing machines and reliable tractors for small farms to heavy road construction.


Starting in 1910, Minneapolis Steel & Machinery Co., produced a heavyweight line of road builders and prairie sod breakers known as Twin City tractors. By 1920 Twin City offered tractors as small as 12-20 and as large as 60-90, a fourteen ton six cylinder.


After the 1929 merger, Minneapolis-Moline was very successful with the Twin City 17-28, 21-32, KT, MT and 27-44. Minneapolis-Moline would evolve several Twin City tractors into their own models and continue designing innovative new models for the next thirty years. Minneapolis-Moline acquired the Avery farm equipment line in 1951 and Minneapolis-Moline’s modern tractor line was so well executed that many of these machines are still working all sizes of farms, all over the world.
Minneapolis-Moline was purchased by the White Motor Corporation in 1963 and the last use of the proud MM badge on tractors was in 1974. White Motor was ultimately purchased and continues today under the name, AGCO.


Minneapolis-Moline made the following contributions to the agricultural equipment industry:
- First fully equipped factory installed cabs (UDLX)
- First manufacturer to offer LP gas as a fuel option 
- First to use the shift on the go transmission in small tractors
- First factory equipped power front axle tractors
- First manufacturer to offer 100 HP row crop tractor (G-1000)
- First articulated FWD tractors made in-house with primarily off the shelf parts (A4T-1400 and A4T-1600)

If you have any photos, brochures, memorabilia or other items to share with the Prairie Gold Rush related to Minneapolis-Moline, or predecessors such as The Minneapolis Steel and Machinery Co. “Twin City”, The Minneapolis Threshing Machine Co. “Great Minneapolis Line”, The Moline Plow Co., The New Moline Plow Co., or The Moline Implement Co., please drop us a line. We have spend decades gathering and sharing this information with our readers.