To Plow the Prairie

Returning from a short trip we made a stop at this site and it is this theme that I want to explore today. Illinois is known for its prairie history and my first two photos provide some information to read and a visual to give the reader an idea of how the prairie originally looked. To compare, my wife is 5' 1" so you now have a reference point from which to think about travel through that original prairie grass.

Farmers who moved to Illinois and saw this prairie were disappointed. A place that couldn't support trees everywhere could never support farming. How many times are our assumptions wrong? Some questions for research:

• Where was John Deere born? When?
• Describe the geography of area where he was born?
• How is iron made? What was the problem with iron plows?
• How is steel made? When was it first made in the U.S. and by whom?
• What advantage did steel have over iron? How did Deere recognize this advantage?
• Where, in Illinois, were the above pictures taken? Describe the geography of this area?
• What differences do you notice in the geographic descriptions of the two areas? Similarities?
• What did John Deere do with his new invention? What business plan did he follow?
• Who worked with Deere the most?
• Where did Deere eventually move? Besides the namesake corporation what other evidence of Deere exists in that community?
• Back to the plow, how many acres per day could be plowed with an iron plow? What about the new steel plow?
• How did you sharpen an iron plow? Steel? How often did this need to happen?
• In 1837 a plow normally had how many "bottoms?" 
• What was done to prepare the prairie for plowing? 
• What other products did Deere and his company eventually develop and market?
• Today, how many employees does the namesake company have and where are they located?