John Deere Historic Site — Attraction in Grand Detour Township

Free Historical Tour was awesome! I live 50min away and have passed this for years, but never stopping thinking it would be hokey. Today was the day I stopped to check it out and it was a great experience. I have toured southern plantations, historical mansions and this was a nice stop that is on par if you like history. The 1st room is informational and sets details. The original archeological excavation of the original shop site was excellent followed by a nice 10 min movie explaining John Deere and his journey. The Blacksmith demonstration was great to see a guy work all the old timey tools of that 1800s trade. Then walk to the home. The home was nicely restored to its functional state as it would have been when Deere was starting out in Grand Detour. Our guide Emily was fantastic, informative, and left no question unanswered. 🙂 She was great, and good part of the...

This is such a neat little spot. It’s free to anyone and they take you on a neat little tour through the home John Deere built and into the “Arc” building where they have preserved a piece of agricultural history! The spot where John Deere had his blacksmith shop along with some of the tools he used and thing he made. The staff is very knowledgeable and SUPER KIND! It was a neat little spot for our 15 and 11 year olds to experience. It probably takes about 2-3 hrs to go through if you get the full tour and visit all the shops: we were there on a slightly rainy day so we didn’t spend as much time looking around as we could have. So nice to see that someone is saving this important landmarks! This site marks the spot where the farming business really started stepping up it game and becoming what...

Well maintained historic site with interpreters highlighting the life and work of John Deere and his impact on agriculture. The tour style involves grouping visitors into tours, so we ended up being thrown into a group already most of the way through a tour of the house. Which means we didnt get the intro part until later. I am sure they have their reasons for this arrangement, but I would have preferred a stroll on your own type of experience. Excellent blacksmith who explained the work he was doing with humor and engaging interpretation. Since the site is funded by the company admission is free and the interpretation feels at times like a marketing message about the company's history and values... but the fact is that Deere's impact on agriculture and manufacturing were...