Editor’s note: This is part of an occasional series about people, places and things in San Joaquin County as the county marks its 175th anniversary.

STOCKTON — An invention 121 years ago in San Joaquin County revolutionized farming and played a key role in the United States, Great Britain and France winning World War I.

The invention was the Holt 75 Caterpillar.

The man behind the invention, patent, and manufacturer of the world’s first practical crawler-type tractor was Benjamin Holt.

His invention allowed the weight of heavy agriculture land sculpting to be spread over a larger area. As such, it prevented machinery from sinking into soft ground.

The tractor made establishment of farming in the Delta possible.

It also accelerated agricultural production elsewhere as well as making it practical to farm soft fertile soil on a large scale.

Holt tractors were used during World War 1 to replace horses that hauled artillery and other supplies.

The tractor served as the inspiration for the development of the first tanks by the British and French.

More than 10,000 Holt tractors weighing in excess of 18,000 pounds and having 120 horsepower were used in World War I.

Holt shifted focus to producing road building equipment after World War I plus continued his agricultural efforts.

Five years after Holt’s death at age 71 in 1920, Holt Caterpillar Company merged with C.L. Best to form  what is today the world’s largest earth mining equipment manufacturer, Caterpillar Inc.

Holt was born on Jan. 1, 1849 in Concord, New Hampshire.

He was the youngest of 11 siblings.

His father owned a sawmill that supplied wagon and coach manufacturers with hardwood.

Holt’s brother Charles moved to San Francisco in 1864 and started a company that produced wooden wheels for wagons. 

As the times changed, they also added production of steel wheels for street cars.

Holt started working in his father’s sawmill in 1869 fashioning hardwood to ship to Charles and two other brothers that had joined him in San Francisco.

At age 23, he took over the sawmill.

In 1883, Holt joined his brothers in California.

The Holt brothers formed the Stockton Wheel Co.

They chose Stockton as its climate was conducive for drying wooden wagon wheels.

Seasoning was needed to prepare the wooden wheels for use in the arid valleys as well as deserts of California and beyond.

Stockton was also accessible by river boat as well oceangoing ships part of the year thanks to the San Joaquin River. That was critical for obtaining needed manufacturing supplies. 

By the end of 1883, they were churning out wheels from a three-story brick building in Stockton and had 25 employees.

Holt had a series of other inventions as well from a horse drawn link-belt combined harvested to steam traction engines.

His first foray into steam traction engines produced 60 horsepower on a 24-foot frame from just one 11-inch diameter, 12-inch stoke piston.

It burned either oil, coal, or wood as fuel.

With 675 gallon of water, it tipped the scales at 48,000 pounds.

It could harvest fields at one-sixth the cost of combines pulled by horses.

They were also adapted to haul redwood logs out of roadless forests.

The 1892 invention of a steam driven tractor that could haul 45 tons freight also revolutionized freight movement what was done by horse power at the time.

The freight tractor moved at 3 mph.

Benjamin Holt Drive North Stockton is named in his honor.

To contact Dennis Wyatt, email dwyatt@mantecabulletin.com