To fully understand how the steel plow was invented and its impact on agriculture you must start with the story of John Deere himself.
John Deere was born in Rutland, Vermont on February 7 1804. He spent most of his childhood years in Middlebury, Vermont. Where he also received a common school education and a four-year apprenticeship learning the blacksmiths trade.
In 1825, John decided to begin his career in blacksmithing. He soon gained fame for his careful workmanship. His highly successful business soon took a turn for the worst. In the mid 1830's word filtered from the west of gold. So most of the New Englanders emigrated west. Which meant doom for blacksmiths. But John Deere took a risk; he packed up a bundle of tools, and a small amount of cash and set out. Leaving his family behind. After many miles of travel he ended up in the village of Grand Detour, Illinois. The need for a blacksmith was so great that two days after his arrival in 1836 he had built a forge and was busy serving the community.
There was a lot to get done. He first had to repair the plows and other equipment for the pioneers. He soon learned of a serious problem that the farmers faced. The cast iron plows that the farmers had brought with them were designed for the light New England soil. The rich midwestern soil was much thicker and "clung" to the plow bottoms and every few steps it was necessary to scrape the soil from the plow. The farmers became discouraged because plowing was a slow and laborious task, some even considered moving back east.
John spent most of his time studying this problem, he came up with a highly polished and properly shaped moldboard that he felt would cut right through the dirt. He made this plow in 1837, using the steel from a broken saw blade. He successfully tested it on the farm of Lewis Crandall.
John's new steel plow was the answer that farmers needed to be successful. But his contribution to the growth of American Agriculture far exceeds just the development of a steel plow.