1912 Hackney Auto Plow Tractor

1912 Hackney Auto Plow Tractor TRACTORS Antiques We saw a photo of this rare 1912 Hackney One Man Auto Plow in a recent issue of Engineers & Engines magazine The strange-looking tractor was photographed where it’s kept on the grounds of the Dale and Martha Hawk Museum near Wolford North Dakota     The front wheel drive tractor is powered by a 40 hp engine which chain-drives a pair of lugged steel wheels on front There’s a single steel wheel on back A 3 or 4-bottom moldboard plow is mounted underneath     FARM SHOW called the museum to find out more about the tractor and spoke to Gordon Phingvold “As far as we know there are only two or three Hackney Auto Plows still in existence and ours is the only one known to be in working condition ” says Phingvold “Otherwise we don’t have a lot information on the tractor’s history ”     So we went on the internet and from various sources here’s what we learned     The tractor appears to have had only one purpose - plowing It could be equipped with either 3 or 4 moldboard plow bottoms The moldboards hung on chains and cables and were manually raised or lowered Because the plow was self-propelled it could be maneuvered into the corners of fields near fences The tractor also had a ring hitch on back     According to a story in the Le Roy Pennsaver & News: “Unlike other plows at the time which were usually painted in drab colors the Hackney Auto Plow was finished in bright red with yellow striping and wheels It had a fully upholstered seat similar to luxury automobiles of the day and could be operated in either the forward or backward direction          “Automobiles and tractors at that time were started by a crank but the Hackney had a wheel on front that was used to turn the engine ”     A unique seat and steering wheel arrangement permitted the tractor’s operator to face in either direction     “The tractor has a horizontal steering wheel with a bench seat on one side of it and a single seat on the other side ” says Phingvold “To plow the driver sat on one seat and faced forward toward the front wheels To drive on the road he sat on the other seat and faced backward toward the single steering wheel ”     According to various sources the Hackney Auto Plow was first marketed in 1911 in St Paul Minn The Hackney brothers had made money in North Dakota buying and selling railroad land They soon went into business making agricultural equipment in St Paul     By 1909 the Hackney Co was manufacturing the One Man Plow The demand for the plow was primarily in the Dakotas and Minnesota Hackney Manufacturing Company continued until 1914 when it was sold to Standard Motor Co Mason City Iowa That company failed after only a short time Subsequently the Hackney company was reorganized in 1917 but a fire wiped out the factory the following year Within another year or so the Hackney Auto Plow disappeared from the market     Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Gordon Phingvold Dale and Martha Hawk Museum 4839 78th St Wolford N Dak 58385 ph 701 583-2381; emhawk@gondtc com; www hawkmuseum org

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