George Brown's Corn Planter

George Brown was born on October 29, 1815, in Saratoga County in eastern New York. Brown grew up on a farm until the age of 14 where he learned carpentry trade with his brother. In 1836, he moved to Galesburg Illinois where he invented the idea of turning a cultivator into a corn planter. After years of designing corn planters, his invention was used in 1852 to plant a total of 24 acres for himself and a neighbor. By having carpentry experience, he started building planters by hand. Brown's planter business grew to have 100 machines made in 1854 and 300 made in 1855. Later in 1855, Brown built his factory in Galesburg Illinois, which made 8,000 corn planters a year. The factory ended up having the most employees in Galesburg. IN 1878, Brown became the mayor of Galesburg for a year. On June 2, 1895, George Brown died of pneumonia and was buried at the Hope Cemetery in Galesburg. 

The illustration itself says “The Celebrated,” meaning this factory made an impact on Galesburg by providing jobs to the majority of its population. George Brown contributed not only economically but internationally. His accomplishment and invention was celebrated and highly regarded for making Galesburg renowned. Also, it improved farming capabilities. George Brown’s life struggles and successes played an important role in the community of Galesburg through the example he set. His story proved to the community that effort can lead to success despite your situation.