This Iowa-built machine from 1892 was the first gas-powered tractor to revolutionize farming
Published on Jul 01, 2025 at 8:59 AM (UTC+4)
by Claire Reid
Last updated on Jul 01, 2025 at 11:36 AM (UTC+4)
Edited by
Kate Bain
More than 100 years ago, a man from Iowa named John Froelich created the first gas-powered tractor and completely changed farming forever.
It’s safe to assume unless you happen to work in agriculture, it’s not something most folks spend much time thinking about.
However, farming is essential in our daily lives and thanks to one man back in 1892, it became a whole lot easier.
While other inventors at the time were experimenting with steam, he created a gas-powered engine and changed the game.
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John Froelich built the world’s first gas-powered tractor
Unlike supercars, motorbikes, and even top-of-the-line luxury RVs and motorhomes, it’s safe to say there isn’t a lot of glamor or star power linked to the humble tractor.
But, let’s be honest, where would we be without them and the hard-working farmers that use them?
Back in the late 1800s, tractors weren’t even known as tractors yet and were dubbed ‘traction engines’.
Around that time, some inventors dabbled with the idea of a steam-powered traction engine.
One such steam-powered engine belonged to John Froelich, who used it to power his thresher.
However, he found it difficult to transport and a potential fire hazard when working in dry fields, according to the Progressive Farmer.
Not ideal.
So, he decided to make his own lighter, gas-powered engine that could offer a solid solution to the problems he faced.
He bought a single-cylinder Van Duzen gas engine that offered 14 horsepower and mounted it onto the frame and hooked it up with the running gear of a steam engine.
According to the publication, Froelich held onto many of the existing steam engine parts, but he also customized it with his own components including adding a water-cooling system, clutch, and steering.
Froelich proudly showed off his invention for the first time in front of a crowd, but he struggled to get it going.
Thinking on his feet, he and his assistant William Mann, pushed a rifle cartridge into the priming cup and whacked it with a hammer, bringing it to life.
Don’t try that at home.
Nonetheless, it worked and more than a century on, the modern tractors we see and use today can trace their roots back to Froelich’s invention.
“It was a tractor before its time,” executive director of the Froelich Foundation for the Preservation of Farm Tractor History Denise Schutte told Progressive Farming.
Things have come a long way since
The gas-powered tractor John Froelich built back in 1892 works as a sort of ancestor to the ones we have today.
And it’s safe to say things have come a long way since, these days there are more than four million tractors in use across the US.
These days many of those available are absolute beasts, including the John Deere RX 830 that comes with a 913 horsepower engine.
Froelich would be proud.
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Claire Reid is a journalist who hails from the UK but is now living in New Zealand. She began her career after graduating with a degree in Journalism from Liverpool John Moore’s University and has more than a decade of experience, writing for both local newspapers and national news sites. Claire covers a wide variety of topics, with a special focus on cars, technology, planes, cryptocurrency, and luxury.
