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John Deere -- Inventor of "The Plow that Broke the Plains"

John Deere -- Inventor of "The Plow that Broke the Plains" is a Vermont historical marker in Middlebury, Addison County.

Cannon Park, Middlebury

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Inventor of the plow that broke the plains John Deere learned the blacksmith trade here as an apprentice in the shop of Capt. Benjamin Lawrence from 1821 to 1825. The shop was located below this spot on Mill Street, in what is known as Frog Hollow. In 1836 Deere removed to Grand Detour, Illinois where, in 1837, he built the worlds first steel moldboard plow.

TodayHistorical map

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Barry Lawrence Ruderman Map Collection, Stanford Libraries

Historical maps covering this location

1816 · Vermont (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
1823 · Vermont (Carey, 1823) (Barry Lawrence Ruderman Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
1827 · New Hampshire (A. Finley, 1827) (Barry Lawrence Ruderman Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
1832 · New Hampshire (A. Finley, 1832) (Barry Lawrence Ruderman Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
1857 · Map of Addison County, Vermont (Digital Commonwealth, Boston Public Library)

Vermont (Carey, 1823), 1823, covering the location of John Deere -- Inventor of "The Plow that Broke the Plains", with a pin at the marker's coordinates — Vermont (Carey, 1823), 1823, covering this location. Barry Lawrence Ruderman Map Collection, Stanford Libraries. The pin is ours, placed from the marker's coordinates.

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Marker data: Vermont Division for Historic Preservation

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