Tractor enthusiast adds to collection
By Staff
Jonathan Willis
For Jerome Jackson, an avid tractor collector, adding to his collection is no easy feat.
He wants to find rare pieces that still have most original parts.
That's why his search for a 1918 Fordson took so long. But, this week, the Spruce Pine resident found just what he was looking for.
Jackson traveled to Ohio this week to purchase one of the long sought after tractors. The Fordson was built by Henry Ford and Son Company as a way to offer farmers a more productive alternative than the horse and mule.
"These were small enough and economical enough that farmers could afford them," said Jackson, who is retired from Russellville Hospital.
Having grown up on a farm, Jackson now works to restore vintage and classic tractors. He also travels to tractor shows across the region and organizes the tractor show each year for the Watermelon Festival.
His latest addition to his collection of seven will not be ready for this year's festival, Jackson said.
Though the 1918 Fordson that he purchased is in good condition, it will not be ready to show until it is completely restored.
"I want it to be immaculate," he said. "I will completely re-do it and get everything back to like it was originally. This thing is really unique."
Jackson said the 1918 edition of the Fordson was the first production tractor in the world.
"Henry Ford put the whole world on wheels," he said. "He built the Model T and the Fordson so everybody could afford to have a car and tractor."
Records show that the 1918 Fordson tractor sold for about $760 each new.
The latest find is just one of several tractors that Jackson has restored.
His oldest tractor is a 1940 Ford 9N, a model that introduced the easy-to-use "three-point" hitch in 1939. The three-point system is still in use today.
Another is a 1959 Ford 541 "offset, high clearance diesel." Jackson said that nine other of those tractors are in existence, but his is the only diesel powered of its kind.
"Of all my research, it is the only one in existence," Jackson said.
