Someone had managed to gather together about 60 farm implements and wagons and has decided to put them on display. The vast majority of the farm implements are very old horse drawn machines. The collection includes plows, cultivators, harrows, discs, mowers, corn planters, farm wagons, potato diggers and planters, a hay loader, a manure spreader and two road graders. The display is immediately north of the highway and appears to be accessible 24/7/365, at no charge.
This grader bears serial number 39610 and could be so old that it's a model No. 1. The first few models, Nos. 1, 2, 3 & 4, were quite similar - this could be any of those. Possibly the serial number is trying to tell us that it is a No. 3. Conversely, I have noticed that later models, ie nos. 3 & 4, have the model number on the name plate whereas this one's name plate simply reads
Road Patrol. In any event, this example was made before the era to the No. 7 leaning wheel grader, one of the most prevalent to be found any more.
This old grader is possibly one of a great many that, after being retired by towns and municipalities, found their ways onto farms. Farmers were able to get the used graders cheaply and use them on the farm for grading their lanes, farmyards and access roads. They probably found several other uses for them as well, such as carving out shallow irrigation ditches.
The origins of J.D. Adams & Company are rooted in 1885 when Joseph D. Adams designed a road grader. Although he had no degree or training in engineering his machine was a useful invention in the process of road creation and maintenance. By the 1890s he established his own production company to make graders and steel highway bridges, as well as other items. However, it was not until 1929 that the brothers, William and Roy Adams took over the business and formed J.D. Adams & Co., a corporation. Until 1940 the brothers ran it together, however in that year William Ray Adams died.
After 1940, Roy E. Adams continued to control the bulk of the business with the help of the board. On January 1, 1955, J.D. Adams & Company became a division of the LeTourneau-Westinghouse Company, at that time, J.D. Adams & Company stopped producing products and turned into an investment firm. Roy E. Adams continued the company’s leadership until his death in September of 1956, at which time family members of the original parent company ceased to be present in its management.
In 1958, the investment firm that J.D. Adams & Co. had become, merged with State Street Investment Corporation. It became a division of that corporation. As for the manufacturing that J.D. Adams & Co. originally took part in, it became part of another roadway equipment company and the graders that Joseph D. Adams had originally designed and inspired were continued in production by WABCO.
From the State of Indiana