History of the Plymouth Silver King
J.D. Fate and a business partner founded Plymouth in 1882, and Fate organized the Plymouth truck company in 1909, which went out of business in 1915.
The company’s first tractors were designed by the company’s locomotive engineers, who came from all over the country with ideas on how farm tractors should be designed. The Fate-Root-Heath Plymouth was designed for the farm tractor market. It was a one-plow standard tread tractor that could plow all of 5 acres in ten hours.
After a legal battle between Fate-Root-Heath and Chrysler over the use of the Plymouth name in 1934, Chrysler’s lawyers were sent packing back to Detroit with their tails between their legs, and all tractors built in the plant after serial number 314 were dubbed Silver Kings. Silver King tractors were popular during the Works Progress Administration, and were used to tow movie sets and vegetable wagons in California.
In 1939, Fate-Root-Heath introduced the Silver King tractor, which featured the first major mechanical changes to the three-wheeled and four-wheeled models. World War II slowed tractor production, and parts and tooling were sent to the Mountain State Fabricating Company. A few chassis and final drives were sent to the Harry Lowther Co for use in the war effort.
Where were Silver King tractors made?
The Fate-Root-Heath Co. began producing Silver Kings in 1933 in Plymouth, Ohio, and they were originally known as ‘Plymouths.’
How many Silver King tractors were made?
Around 8700 Silver King and Plymouth tractors were built, and today, the farmers who used them, the men who built them, and the people of Plymouth, Ohio, who relied on the little silver tractors to keep their economy afloat during the Great Depression remember them fondly.
What brand of tractor is Silver?
Fate won the battle, having built Plymouth-brand vehicles long before Chrysler but selling the name to the automaker, and the Silver King brand was born, taking its name from the silver paint on the tractors.
Who made power king tractors?
Engineering Products Company (EPCO) of Wisconsin produced Power King tractors, which began as a name for specific EPCO tractors before becoming the brand name for the entire line in 1977. Power King was sold to Support Services International in 1990, and production was moved from Waukesha to Beaver Dam.
What brand of tractor is most reliable?
Here are the most dependable tractor brands in North America among the big names.
- New Holland.
- Case IH.
- Kubota.
- Massey Ferguson.
- Fendt.
- John Deere and Company.
- John Deere and
Who makes a purple tractor?
The Purple Cancer Eater, a purple 68-year-old International Harvester Farmall tractor owned by Russ Tjarks of Sibley, is probably one of the most unique tractors at the Threshermen’s Reunion.
Does Ford still make tractors?
Ford is still the only major automaker in the country with its own tractor line, despite its annual tractor sales of about $1.3 billion being dwarfed by its nearly $50 billion in automotive sales.
Are power king tractors any good?
If you don’t mind tinkering and repairing, they’re pretty good tractors; however, if your work isn’t getting done, that’s another story. Purchasing a new sub compact tractor is a significant investment, but it’s something most of us eventually do.
Who made the economy tractor?
Engineering Products Company (EPCO) of Wisconsin produced economy tractors.
Who makes Power King stump grinder?
With the purchase of their stump grinder, Kohler Command Power King is including an extra full set of teeth ($169.99 retail), a tow bar ($74.99 retail), and a weatherproof cover ($52.00 retail).