Ralph Pierce and his son, Nathan, are proud owners of a 1917 Wisconsin Tractor 16-32 that Ralph’s dad bought for just $350. Ralph says his dad, Jim, often talked about his fond memories of driving a smooth-running Wisconsin at his uncle’s farm near Baraboo, Wis., in the 1930s.

“He wanted a Wisconsin of his own for a long time, and eventually he was able to buy a 16-32 (16 hp drawbar/32 hp belt) in 1967. Almost six decades later, my son Nathan and I keep that tractor in top, parade-worthy condition.”

Ralph says that when his dad bought the tractor from a collector, it was nearly 50 years old.

“It ran fairly well, but it needed cleaning, and the hood was badly damaged. He had a friend in the furnace business build a new hood, and another friend painted the tractor. They tuned up the magneto, repaired the radiator, and put rubber tread pods on the iron wheels. It was and still is a real nice parade tractor. It’s been at the Badger Steam and Gas Engine Show in Baraboo, Wis., every summer since 1970, and oftentimes at other area shows.”

Pierce had it repainted in 2001 and relates that “because of the tractor’s age, the radiator had been leaking, so I had it rebuilt by a company in Cincinnati. Much to my amazement, that repair cost more than $4,000, but it sure looks nice now. We also rebuilt the magneto and the rear wooden platform, but otherwise it’s original. We store it inside, and it starts just fine every spring. I crank the engine over several times each winter to make sure it stays lubricated.”

The Wisconsin is one of about 500 tractors built by the McFarlane and Westmart Tractor Co. in Sauk City, Wis. Although Earl McFarlane’s tractor venture lasted only a scant eight years, the company achieved long-term success with tillage equipment. The McFarlane Company still exists in 2026 as a successful “short line” business. Three of Earl’s grandsons are active in the company, which has diversified and expanded over the years. Pierce says the company owns one of the 15 or 16 Wisconsin tractors still in existence, and he knows where many of the others are, too.

“Three or four are around this area, and one in Northern Wisconsin has two brass serial plates, one with a U.S. serial number and the other with a Canadian number. Others are in Minnesota, Iowa and Illinois. A few years ago, we had 9 of them at the Baraboo Show,” says Pierce.

“Wisconsin tractors had outstanding power and were known for having a closed gearcase, a rarity among tractors in the early 1900s. Ours has a Climax 4-cyl. engine, and others had Beaver or Waukesha engines. If you put it against another tractor built in 1919, it was ahead of its time.”

Pierce has collected memorabilia and information on Wisconsin tractors over the years.

“The company built five different models. Ours is the 16-32 standard, and others had different features such as larger wheels, a bigger engine, different radiators, a preheater on the exhaust manifold, and different air cleaners. Wisconsin was definitely a custom tractor company.”

Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Ralph Pierce, P.O. Box 101, Baraboo, Wisc. 53913 (ralphbbc@yahoo.com).