William Butterworth Biography: Expansion and Deere’s Move Into Tractors

When William Butterworth became Deere & Company’s third president in 1907, he had already spent 15 years moving through the organization from assistant buyer to treasurer.

The next 21 years brought a much larger shift. Deere expanded through acquisitions, reorganized its operations, broadened its equipment lines, and worked through a long transition into tractor manufacturing.

Butterworth’s role in that tractor transition was not simple. He had reservations about entering the business, yet Deere continued experimenting during his presidency and made a permanent commitment in 1918 by purchasing the Waterloo Gasoline Engine Company.

A Quick Look at the Life of William Butterworth

From Legal Training to Deere & Company

Butterworth was born in Maineville, Ohio, and was the son of Benjamin Butterworth. He graduated from Lehigh University and later completed legal studies at National University Law School in Washington, D.C.

Deere heritage material places his Lehigh graduation in 1889 and describes an early career that included work connected with the Paris Exposition, employment in Washington, legal studies at night, admission to the bar, and a law partnership with Burton F. Peek.

His direction changed in 1892. Butterworth married Katherine Deere, daughter of Charles Deere, and joined Deere & Company that same year as an assistant buyer.

By 1897, he had become company treasurer. When Charles Deere died in 1907, Butterworth succeeded him as Deere & Company’s third president.

Leading Deere Through Expansion

Butterworth remained president from 1907 through 1928. His tenure coincided with a major period of structural and product-line change at Deere.

During the early twentieth century, the company expanded through acquisitions while reorganizing and integrating its operations. Deere historical material identifies Dain Manufacturing Company, Van Brunt Manufacturing Company, Syracuse Chilled Plow Company, Marseilles Company, and Kemp & Burpee Manufacturing Company among the businesses brought into the organization.

A museum history summary states that six noncompeting farm-equipment companies were added to Deere in 1911, helping establish it as a full-line manufacturer of farm equipment.

The scale of the business changed quickly. Deere’s historical records report that sales increased from $5.3 million in 1909 to more than $30 million in 1913 while the company was being reorganized and expanded.

Many decisions from this period belonged to Deere leadership and its board rather than to Butterworth alone. His role was to lead the company through a period in which its structure, reach, and product range were changing substantially.

The Long Road Into Tractors

Deere’s move into tractors developed over several years. Company leadership was evaluating tractor technology by 1911, and in March 1912 the board authorized research and development of a tractor plow.

The company then went through investigation, design work, field testing, unsuccessful experimental tractors, and continued debate. Butterworth had reservations about tractor manufacturing, but those reservations did not end Deere’s work in the field.

The decisive change came on March 14, 1918, when Deere purchased the Waterloo Gasoline Engine Company. The acquisition marked Deere’s permanent entry into tractor and stationary-engine manufacturing, and the company continued developing Waterloo Boy tractors.

The sequence matters. Deere did not move from rejection to acceptance in a single step. Its path into tractors involved experimentation, caution, and eventual acquisition while Butterworth remained president.

Changes Beyond Products

Deere heritage material also credits Butterworth’s era with the development of employee group insurance and a factory death, disability, and pension plan.

These programs were a smaller part of his record than Deere’s acquisitions and tractor transition, but they show that change during his presidency extended beyond factories and product lines.

From President to Chairman

In 1928, Butterworth stepped down as Deere president after roughly two decades in the position. Charles Deere Wiman succeeded him.

Butterworth remained with Deere as the company’s first chairman of the board, a position he held until 1936.

His work also moved beyond Deere. Beginning in 1928, he served as president of the Chamber of Commerce of the United States. A 1929 Library of Congress photograph identified him as having been re-elected to that post, and a 1930 presidential statement also identified him as Chamber president.

The transition gave Butterworth a broader national business role while he continued serving Deere at the board level.

Death and Memorial Legacy

Butterworth died suddenly near Atlantic City, New Jersey, in 1936 while still serving as Deere’s board chairman. The exact date remains uncertain: contemporary and near-contemporary records place his death on either May 31 or June 1.

After his death, Katherine Deere Butterworth established what became the William Butterworth Foundation in his memory. The foundation operates Butterworth Center and Deere-Wiman House in Moline.

Butterworth’s career is closely tied to a period when Deere changed in scale and direction. During his presidency, the company broadened its organization and product range and made its permanent move into tractors. His later service as board chairman and national Chamber president carried that business career beyond the office he held for 21 years.

Timeline

This timeline highlights important milestones in William Butterworth’s education, Deere career, and later business leadership.

December 18, 1864 or 1866

Butterworth is born in Maineville, Ohio. The birth year is disputed.

1889

Deere heritage material places his graduation from Lehigh University in this year.

1892

He marries Katherine Deere and joins Deere & Company as an assistant buyer.

1897

He becomes Deere & Company treasurer.

1907

Butterworth becomes the third president of Deere & Company after the death of Charles Deere.

1909–1913

Deere’s historical records report sales growth from $5.3 million to more than $30 million during a period of acquisitions and reorganization.

1911

Deere expands its position as a full-line farm-equipment manufacturer while company leadership evaluates tractor opportunities.

March 1912

The Deere board authorizes research and development of a tractor plow.

March 14, 1918

Deere purchases the Waterloo Gasoline Engine Company, marking its permanent entry into tractor manufacturing.

1928

Butterworth leaves the Deere presidency and becomes the company’s first chairman of the board. Charles Deere Wiman becomes president, while Butterworth also moves into national leadership of the Chamber of Commerce of the United States.

1929

A Library of Congress photograph records Butterworth’s re-election as president of the Chamber of Commerce of the United States.

1930

A presidential statement identifies Butterworth as president of the Chamber of Commerce of the United States.

May 31 or June 1, 1936

Butterworth dies near Atlantic City, New Jersey. Records differ on the exact date.

Further Reading

• Iowa PBS — Tractor Wars documentary

Sources

• Deere & Company: William Butterworth former leader profile, The Plowshare, Issue 44, The Plowshare, Issue 37, Charles Deere Wiman former leader profile
• John Deere Heritage: Biography of William Butterworth
• Smithsonian National Museum of American History: Waterloo Boy Model N Traction Machine
• Library of Congress, Harris & Ewing Collection: William Butterworth as re-elected U.S. Chamber president, 1929
• The American Presidency Project: Statement listing Butterworth as U.S. Chamber president
• The Daily Iowan, University of Iowa Digital Archives: June 2, 1936 death report
• National Society Sons of the American Revolution: July 1936 Quarterly Bulletin
• William Butterworth Foundation: About the foundation