1869 – Abraham Martin Zimmerman (Abe) was born July 31, 1869 in Lancaster County, Pa., the son of conservative Mennonites Martin Wenger Zimmerman (1839-1898) and Annie Weaver Zimmerman (1838-1917). Abe’s wife was Elizabeth Martin Zimmerman, born June 29, 1863 in Lancaster County, and died August 27, 1957 in Virginia and is buried in Cedar Grove Cemetery, Williamsburg, Va. Abraham had 8 siblings. Abraham died January 24, 1944 and buried in Cedar Grove Cemetery, Williamsburg, Va.
1888 – Abe worked for Ezra F. Landis Machine Works in Lancaster, Pa. learning the machinist trade. After his apprenticeship with Landis, Abe worked for Peter Shirk, owner-founder of the Blue Ball Machine Works. Blue Ball, Pa. is just east of New Holland.
1895 – Abe founded the New Holland Machine Works in 1895. Abe worked for Peter Shirk at Blue Ball Machine Works and opened a machine shop in a horse barn on Luther Avenue which later was renamed to North Railroad Avenues, New Holland. It consisted of two frame buildings, each being about 30’x40’. There was a 12 HP boiler which Abe constructed for powering the steam engine which drove the machinery. Twelve-inch horizontal sandstone mill in a wood frame was made. (Clarion, May 30, 1896)
1895 – The town of New Holland is incorporated.
1895 - The A. M. Dellinger Co. was founded to manufacture ensilage cutters, which later purchased the Mountville Co. line of products and then was purchased by New Holland.
1896 - Zimmerman manufactured twelve-inch vertical sandstone mills in an iron frame, boilers, water troughs, water tanks and was employing three employees. (Clarion, May 30, 1896)
1897 – Abe manufactured a sixteen-inch vertical mill in an iron frame. The “Ideal Wind Motor” was developed and patented but not produced. Portable feed mill with sandstone grinding wheels was developed (Clarion, Dec 25, 1897). A twelve-inch sandstone mill was developed. Five people were employed. (Clarion, February 24, 1912)
1898 – Zimmerman purchased second-hand gas engines, repaired, rebuilt and sold them. Zimmerman began retailing the German Otto four-cycle engine as part of his new business. The single-cylinder dual flywheel stationary engine was manufactured in Philadelphia. The Otto engine was a vapor-gas engine which not usable by farmers. Zimmerman saw this problem and developed a vaporizer which enabled a 12 Otto to run on gasoline allowing farmers to purchase and use the Otto. (Clarion, February 24, 1912)
Abe obtained rights to sell a single-cylinder dual flywheel engine called the Columbus which ran on gasoline and kerosene. This engine was made by Columbus Machine Co., Columbus, Ohio.
Abe developed a cob breaker and produced it for shelling corn.
1899 – Fiat (Fabbrica Italiana di Automobili Torino) founded in Turin, Italy.
1899 November – Abe obtained a patent for a cob grinder which featured an adjustable opening in the grinding plate. This “feed and cob mill” had a capacity of 10-30 bushels of feed per hour and was offered for $15.00. Sold seventy-five grinders. Sold Columbus engines on carts and made circulating pumps for cooling engine water. Abe received a patent for cooling engine water. Employed eight people. (Clarion, February 24, 1912)
1899 - Hertzler & Zook Company, of Belleville, Pa., founded by Israel Zook Hertzler and Thomas E. Zook in 1899, beginning as a machine and buggy repair shop but by about 1905 developing a specialty in wood sawing machines for farm use. Their product line expanded to include other small farm machines such as corn shellers, concrete mixers, water pumps, gas engines (rebranded Witte and Nelson engines) and tractors. Sold to New Holland in 1948. Belleville is in Mifflin County, 120 miles north-west of New Holland.
1900 – June 13 Lancaster City Federal 1900 census – “Abe M Zimmerman” is listed as “Machinist”, age 30, wife Barbara was age 26, daughter Annie E age 5 and son Iva M age 2 were listed.
1900 – Abe sold and advertised an improved cob mill. Ten people were employed. (Clarion, February 24, 1912)
1901 – Abe designed and built the 1 ½ HP internal combustion engine. The cob mill experiences a growth in sale. Produced a steel truck for the Columbus engine, designed a clutch pulley for the Columbus engine. Employed seventeen people. (Clarion, February 24, 1912)
1902 – The mill was improved to allow the replacement of the plates without removing the hopper and grinders – this improvement changed the No 1 mill to become the No 10 mill and the No 2 mill became the No 12 mill. The 1 ½ HP engine was improved along with a two-wheel truck was built. (Clarion, March 21, 1903)
1903 - As part of the April 27, 1903 incorporation (Clarion, May 2, 1903), Abe raised $50,00 by selling 500 shares to his neighbors. Zimmerman was selected chief executive officer of the new company. The first year’s directors were: “A. M. Zimmerman, David Milton Wenger, treasurer; John Metzler, Eli M. Martin, New Holland, and H. K. Landis, Mount Joy”. 40 employees were hired to mass-produce the new stationary engine.
A new 2 acre facility along the Downington and Lancaster railroad was built located at 146 E. Franklin St. replacing the Luther Avenue plant. A powerhouse with a 40 HP boiler and 25 HP steam engine and a warehouse were built. This facility was ready for operation in the fall of 1903 (Clarion, May 2, 1903).
1903 – April 7 (Patent Filed July 26 1902) A.M. Zimmerman receives patent 724,649 for “Sparking Mechanism for engines – ignitor assembly. Abe had designed his own stationary engine and built prototypes of the engine. The open-topped trapezoidal water hopper was shaped like a water trough allowing freezing water expand harmlessly upwards and outwards without the cracking the casting of the cylinder or engine. The term “freeze-proof” was established which Zimmerman was awarded a patent (Clarion, February 24, 1912).
Nos. 10 and 12 mills started to use ball bearings in the thrust boxes. The 1 ½ HP engine began to use a four-wheel truck. Wood saws were introduced in three sizes.
1903 July 1903 Issue of The Gas Engine – “The New Holland Machine Co., New Holland, Pa., has recently been incorporated to success the New Holland Machine Works, of which Mr. A. M. Zimmerman was the proprietor. A new brick factory, 210 x 40 feet, will be built, also a (40’ x 50’) foundry addition. In addition to the old line of cob and feed mills, a line of gasoline engines will be made by the new Company.”
1904 January - Testimonial in the catalog indicates a 1 1/2 HP purchase in January 1904 with great satisfaction using the 1 1/2 HP engine. This just identifies the earliest 1 1/2 HP testimonial.
1904 March 29 – First annual report showed profits of $1,859.40 following its very first year of incorporation.
1904? – the feed mills were sold separately or sold mounted on a truck with a New Holland gas engine which allowed a farmer to more easily move it around on the farm.
1905 – Zimmerman’s Mennonite faith was disputed over the use of pulpits, which was a feature of mainline churches. Zimmerman became a “Russelite”, a precursor to the Jehovah’s Witnesses when he was converted by a job applicant.
Casting cleaning was accomplished with a tumbling machine driven by an overhead belt. (Clarion, July 1 1905 describes an employee injury)
1905 – The New Holland Clarion reported on April 1 that A.M. Zimmerman was seen on the streets in his new automobile. He was one of the first townsmen to sport one of these modern machines.
1905 – Sold the following items: Columbus stationary gasoline engine from 4-40 HP, portable from 6-25 HP, 1 ½ HP New Holland gasoline engine for pumping water, separating cream, churning butter, running wash machine, x-ray machine, et., four sizes and three styles of New Holland feed mills with and without elevating and bagging attachments, three sizes of New Holland wood saw with swinging table which can be equipped a ripping table and adjustable gauge for ripping boards, lath, shingles, etc. They also sold second hand goods: gasoline engines, steam engines and boilers, tread and lever powers.
1906 – The Clarion reported A.M. Zimmerman and Harry K. Landis of the New Holland Machine Company, spent several days at the automobile show in Madison Square Garden, New York. (Clarion, June 1 1906)
1906 April 1 - An agreement with Fairbanks, Morse & Co of Chicago allowed them to sell New Holland mills with their emblem and name on them (F&M). This agreement was renewed in 1907. The agreement was not renewed for 1908.
1906 Nov - Fairbanks, Morse Co catalog showing New Holland Mills Nos. 1, 2, 10 & 12.
The agreement to sell Columbus engines was transferred from Zimmerman to Landis Bros., of Rheems, Pa. Rheems is 30 miles west of New Holland.
1907 – A new 85’ x 100’ brick building was built but not used until 1909 due to a weak business climate. New Holland had its machine tools organized in rows driven by a long “line-shaft” overhead powered by a steam engine. A pulley and belt provided power from the shaft to each piece of machinery.
1907 - The No. 6 mill was introduced for sale. This model had wood legs, wood hopper and cast frame. The No. 6 was a burr mill which grind grain finer that the original No 1. Mill.
1908 – Introduced the 3 HP New Holland gasoline engine sold on three or four-wheeled trucks. Made experiments with a stone crusher and sold four in 1908.
1908 August - Testimonial in the catalog indicates a 3 HP purchase in August 1908 with great satisfaction using the 3 HP engine. This just identifies the earliest 3 HP testimonial.
1909 – April Gas Power Ad included New Holland Gasoline Engine in two sizes, 3 HP and 1.5 HP, New Holland Feed Mills with wooden hopper and legs, New Holland Wood Saws with wood legs and frame.
1909 June 9 – NH letter references the 3HP engine.
1909 – Abe’s stone crusher were sold separately or sold mounted on a truck with a New Holland gas engine which allowed a farmer to more easily move it around on the farm. This was used during the time of road development moving away from mud roads to hard pack or concrete road, both needing crushed rock. Advertised Nov 6 1909 in the New Holland Clarion.
1910 – April 19 Lancaster City Federal 1910 census – Abram Zimmerman is listed as “Manager Machine shop”, age 41, wife Lizzie age 37, daughter Anna age 15 and son Ivan age 1 were listed.
1910 – Produced 2,243 mills, 360 gasoline engine, 475 saws, and 27 stone crushers. The stone crushers became a staple product being produced for a long time. The number of employees rose to 135.
1910 – Abe designed a buck saw which were sold separately or sold mounted on a combination truck with a New Holland gas engine. The combination truck allowed for a mill or a saw to be moved about on a farm to where the work was needed. The saw on the combination truck was upgraded from a swinging (wood) to a sliding table (metal).
1910 – Sperry Corporation was founded in Downtown Brooklyn, New York.
1911 – Molding was done manually until automatic molding equipment was installed in 1911. The number of employees rose to 150.
1911 – May 27 The Clarion reported: “A.M. Zimmerman, president and manager of the New Holland Machine Company, and J. Maurice Smith, foreman of the foundry department of the same company, left on Wednesday to attend the convention of the American Foundry Foremans’ Association in Pittsburg.”
1911 – “Engines were changed to comply with the rules of the Underwriters.” – Was this the time when engines changed from high-base to low-base? (Clarion, February 24, 1912)
1912 – March 20 “The New Holland Gasoline Engines have been approved by the National Board of Underwriters March 20, 1912.”
1913 - From a 1913 or later repair brochure indicates No 1 & 2 Mills are discontinued in 1913 from production. The brochure showed the No. 6 wood hopper/ wood leg mill. The mill plates for the No 1 & 10 were the same and the plates for the 2 & 12 were the same.
1914 – May 16 New Holland Clarion reported New Holland Machine Co’s. annual statement shows a 20 percent increase. A.M. Zimmerman was re-elected President and general manager.
1914 – July Global financial unrest relating to the beginning of “The Great War” was felt by New Holland Machine Company with reduced orders. Access to sell products abroad was prevented. (FYI “The Great War” was renamed to WWI when WWII was so named.)
1914 – Several years earlier, Abe had a religious conversion and started to follow Pastor Charles Taze Russell’s (1852-1916) preaching. Known as “The Russellites”, they believed the world would end in October 1914. Russellites disposed of their possessions and spent their assets for good works waiting for the Second Coming of Christ. Zimmerman sold his shares in the company and steps down as President and leaves New Holland Machine Company. Zimmerman was the inventor/designer/innovator leaving no one at the company to provide this capability.
1916 Jan 19 – A M Zimmerman signs company letter as “MGR”.
1916 – 1918 - Worthington Pump and Machinery Corporation Ads include New Holland Feed Mills. Timeframe is from ads placed by Worthington – selling of mills could have started earlier or ended later.
1917 – Henry Ford manufactured the first Fordson tractor.
1918 – September 12 Son Ivan Martin Zimmerman of 136 East Clay St, Lancaster, age 19, was listed as a Clerk in the Cost Department for the New Holland Mach Co in his WWI Registration Card.
1918 September 21 – The Clarion Newspaper September 21 indicates: “Abram Zimmerman has rented Jonas Martin’s farm for next year (Goodville). Goodville is 5 miles east of New Holland on the east side of Blue Ball.
1919 – Rev. J. Henry Fisher, (Mennonite minister) went work for Hertzler & Zook, Belleville, Pa.
1920 – Number of employees rose to 180.
1920 – January 13 Lancaster City Federal 1920 census – Abraham M. Zimmerman is listed as “President Manufacturing Plant”, age 49, wife Elizabeth M age 46, daughter Anna age 24 was single and son Frank age 21 was married to Helen age 21.
1921 May - From a Worthington Pump and Machinery Corporation Bulletin G-E No. 2 - Shows Worthington sold the No. 6, 6 1/2, 8, 10, 12 & 3 Mills. When they started and finished selling Mills needs additional research.
1921 – The ½ HP NH was made 1910-1920. NH bought the Worthington 1HP engine and added a NH tag to the engine. NH started to sell the 1 HP Worthington engine – this replaced the ½ HP NH engine which was no longer made. Duration for the Worthington/New Holland tagged 1 HP engine in unclear.
1924 - Product line catalog (circ.) shows the use of the Webster ignitor on the 2 and 5 HP engines.
1926 – Henry Fisher took over management of the struggling Mountville Manufacturing Company in 1926 (founded in 1888). Fisher learned of an Ohio company that was forced into bankruptcy that had an innovative model of ensilage cutters. Fisher obtained these ensilage cutters and was able to bring Mountville back to profitability. Fisher hires Irl Alonzo Daffin, from Maryland’s Eastern Shore, as a salesman, Raymond “Bucky” Buckwalter, a farmer from Warwick Township to work in the Mountville office.
Fisher sells Mountville to the A. M. Dellinger Company, Lancaster, Pa. in 1932 and begins to work for Dellinger. Fisher hires George C. Delp who was Bucky’s boyhood friend and was a tobacco farmer on Delp Road in Manheim Township.
1927 – Began manufacturing Conestoga hot air furnaces, the number of employees rose to 225.
1929 – Great Depression – share price tumbled to less than a tenth of its peak – the number of employees fell from hundreds to 45. 1929 was the last year New Holland issued a dividend on their stock. Sales drop from 1920-1921 $268,712 to $58,912 in 1932. New Holland lost money in the 1930s.
1929 – A. M. Zimmerman (60) was brought back for a short time to jump start the operation. To remain open, the company produced alternative products and service. For example, they started making large metal door stops shaped liked cows, dogs and other animals. Most were not labeled.
1930 – Eli Hess, (former president of the company) petitioned the court to liquidate the company claiming the assets were overstated and was technically insolvent.
1930 – April 14 – Lancaster City Federal 1930 census – A.M. Zimmerman is listed as “Manager Machine Co.”, age 60, wife Elizabeth M was age 56.
1932 – A.M. Dellinger Co. (Lancaster, Pa.) purchased the Mountville Mfg. Co. line of machinery, however they did not buy the land or building of the Mountville Mfg. Co.
1933 - Zimmerman retires a second time. Sometime before the 1940 Federal census, Abe and his wife moved to Jamestown as their only daughter had moved to Virginia earlier for the Jehovah Witnesses.
1933 – Henry Fisher invited to manage A. M. Dellinger company, Lancaster, Pa.
1934 – July 20, Introduced the “Cloud electric lawn mower” with 100 feet of cord. Orval S Cloud received patent 1868347 July 19, 1932 allowing New Holland to produce and sell the lawn mowers.
1935 – A. M. Zimmerman was living in Martindale, Pa., when his brother Eli Martin Zimmerman passed away. (A. M. Zimmerman was living in Jamestown, Va., according to the 1940 census.)
1936 – A.M. Zimmerman’s wife Elizabeth is listed as living in Charlottesville, Va. according to her mother’s obituary. Abe may have also been in Charlottesville – the notice just lists Elizabeth.
1936 - Edwin (Ed) Nolt built the prototype automatic pickup baler was known as the Nolt Special which consisted of cannibalized parts from a tractor, truck, forge blower and another baler. The next prototype was called the Automaton baler (painted green and silver) which Ed Nolt and Arthur Young produced before Nolt joined New Holland Machine Co. The Automaton used twine to tie the bales, previously bales were tied with wire which was stronger than common binder twine and invulnerable to rot and rodents. The Automaton used heavy-duty treated sisal which farmers found superior.
The selling feature of the baler was to recover straw left in the field after wheat was harvested in the field. The baler had a knotting mechanism that operated automatically which Nolt had developed which was unique and set baler apart in the market place. The automated knotting occurred while the arm compressed the straw providing a compressed bale easy to work. Other manufactures provided a loosely compressed bale being harder to work.
Nolt developed a baler that worked by 1938. Five balers were sold in 1938, thirty in 1939 and ninety in 1940. These were built at the Arthur S. Young Company farm equipment dealership on route 30 in Kinzers, Pa., very close to Rough & Tumble Engineers Historical Association.
1937 – Introduced the “Kut-N-Trim” gas powered lawn mower.
1939 – February - Two attempts to hold a New Holland stockholders’ meeting failed for lack of quorum. Lacey Wright was listed as vice-president in charge of the meeting – no president was indicated. Employment was at a low of 41 by 1940.
1940 – February 10 – A quorum of stockholders and a resolution to sell the company and its assets to pay stockholders and creditors. The original stock was $100 and was now down to $10 a share.
1940 – Rev. J Fisher, Irl Daffin, Raymond Buckwalter, George C Delp wanted to move up in the A. M. Dellinger company or move out on their own. They heard New Holland might be for sale and one night they drove over and “cased the joint”. Dellinger was not interested in purchasing New Holland so they left Dellinger. Buckwalter, Daffin and George C. Delp, obtained a $50,000 loan from the East Petersburg State Bank and bought up a majority of New Holland shares and worked to turn the company around. Being a Mennonite Minister, Fisher was not allowed to own a part of New Holland but could be an “advisor”. Irl Daffin became president of New Holland Machine Company until Sperry purchased the company and Daffin resigns in 1947.
1940 – June 26 – The new owners take over management at a stockholder meeting and issued $50,000 in first mortgage bonds. Using these funds, plans were made to improve the plant’s equipment and tools. What the company needed was a new product which became the baler.
1940 – Nolt and Young needed capital to expand production of the new baler. They approached Oliver Farm Equipment Company as Young was an Oliver dealer. Oliver declined the offer. Being in Lancaster, they next approached the new management team of New Holland Machine Company. Nolt was hired by New Holland Machine Company and Young parted ways and stayed with Oliver. NH dropped the Automaton name and repainted the baler traditional NH red.
1940 – Irl Daffin was President of New holland Machine Company, 1940-1947. George Delp was appointed general manager, secretary and treasurer of the company.
1940 – April 19 1940 Federal Jamestown Va census – Abram M. Zimmerman is listed as “Traveling Salesman Selling Books”, age 71, work 52 weeks in the year, 30 hours a week. His wife Elizabeth M was age 67. Daughter Anna E. age 39 was single listed as “Distributing literature Private Institute”.
1942 – To meet baler production demands at the New Holland plant, New Holland purchases the former Hertzler and Zook plant in Belleville and the former Mountville Manufacturing Company plant. Hammermill and diesel engine production were moved to the Mountville facility and renamed Lancaster Engineering Company. The other product lines were moved to Belleville, freeing up space at New Holland for baler production.
1942 – Est. 1899, Hertzler & Zook (H&Z) Company, of Belleville, Pa is purchased by Sperry. Appears H&Z name is used until at least 1950 (H&Z instructions shows H&Z Division of Sperry). Daffin is president of H&Z 1942-1946 shown in his obituary.
1944 January 24 – Abraham M. Zimmerman died at his Jamestown, Va. home, buried in an unmarked grave at Cedar Grove Cemetery, Williamsburg, Va. His death certificate indicates he was a minister.
1947 – New Holland was acquired by Sperry Rand Corporation ($7,600,00 stock purchase) and the subsidiary was called “Sperry New Holland”. Irl Daffin resigns and George Delp is named president of the “New Holland Machine Company, Division of Sperry Rand Corporation”, a position he held until his retirement in 1969.
1948 - September 16 - A.M. Dellinger Mfg. Co. was bought out by New Holland Machine Co. The Dellinger silage cutter became the basis for the 600 forage harvester.
1955 – Sperry Corporation merged with Remington Rand to form Sperry Rand Corporation.
1957 – Mrs. Elizabeth Zimmerman died at Eastern State Hospital, Jamestown, Va., buried at Cedar Grove Cemetery, Williamsburg, Va.
1958 – New Holland acquired Smoker Elevator Company from Intercourse, Pa and renamed it the Farmec Division.
1964 – Sperry Rand acquires Werkhuiszen Leon Claeys (Clayson) from Antwerp, Belguim. Claeys had developed Europe’s first self-propelled combine harvester. Claeys is rebranded with the anglicized Clayson name.
1964 – Sperry New Holland introduced the haybine mower-conditioner, model 460, capable of performing tasks that previously required two or three separate pieces of equipment.
1966 – Henry Fisher ends his active association with the Sperry Corporation as “consultant”.
1969 – New Holland purchases Fiberglass of Ohio, Inc. which then becomes the Special Products Division.
1974 – Sperry New Holland introduces the world’s first twin rotor combine.
1980 – Sperry New Holland’s sales hit $1 billion.
1986 – Sperry Corporation decides to exit the farm equipment business - Ford purchases Sperry New Holland ($330M cash and assumption of $110M in debt) adding the Ford tractor line. This was the first time the “Ford New Holland” company sold tractors. They had 2,500 dealers and more than 9,000 employees working in 100 different countries.
1986 – Sept 16 - Unisys was formed through the merger when Burroughs purchases Sperry Corporation for $4.8 billion. Unisys headquarters are in Blue Bell, Pa., outside of Philadelphia.
1987-1989 – New Holland’s 53 company-owned stores were sold off or closed. The company was in favor of a dealer development program assisting independent dealers.
1990 – Ford New Holland had 17,000 employees with revenue of $2.8 billion and plants in the United States, Canada, Belgium, England and Brazil.
1990 – Ford decides to sell its farm and construction equipment interested and in 1991 Ford New Holland became a subsidiary of the Italian conglomerate Fiat Geotech. The company was now called New Holland Geotech.
1992 - The New Holland Machine Company building located at 146 E. Franklin St. in New Holland, was built in eight sections between 1903 and 1952. It was a two-story, irregularly shaped, evolutionary industrial brick building. The facility closed in 1992.
1994 – There was $355 million net income on sales of $4.7 billion.
1995 – Ford New Holland was rechristened New Holland North America.
1996 – November 1 IPO – Fiat sold 31 percent of New Holland’s stock, 46.5 million common shares, to the public at $21.50 per share, to raise capital to bolster its sagging core automobile business.
2000 - The New Holland Machine Company building located at 146 E. Franklin St. in New Holland was listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
2012 – Case New Holland - CNH Industrial was created as Fiat restructured its non-automotive vehicle business. CNH Industrial owns Case IH and brands that produce commercial vans, heavy-duty trucks, buses, fire engines, quarrying equipment and amphibius military vehicles.