Castlederg famer leading the drive for a new tractor museum

A CASTLEDERG man is leading a campaign to establish a Harry Ferguson Museum in Northern Ireland, marking 100 years since the invention of the modern tractor.

Stevan Patterson has launched a petition calling on the Communities Minister Gordon Lyons to found and fund a museum honouring Ferguson – the Co Down-born inventor whose 1925 ‘Master Patent’ revolutionised global agriculture.

“None of what I see around me – the patchwork of green fields, ploughed land, and crops across the Derg Valley – would be possible without Harry Ferguson,” Mr Patterson said.

“His ideas fed the world and still power farming today.”

Filed in Belfast on February 12, 1925, Ferguson’s patent introduced the concept of tractor and implements operating as a single unit. This breakthrough – the Ferguson System – forms the basis of nearly every modern tractor.

Mr Patterson’s passion for Ferguson’s legacy isn’t just historical – it’s practical. He still works the land near Castlederg with his 1944 Ford-Ferguson tractor, an 81-year-old machine that runs as well today as it did during wartime.

“As I was working potatoes recently, the little side-valve Ford engine was singing away. It gave me a real sense of pride,” he said. “Harry Ferguson deliberately set its horsepower at 16.9 and had full control over its design, development, and sales. He made technology affordable for even the poorest farmers.”

To mark the centenary, the Derg man unveiled a ‘Master Patent’ plaque and produced a commemorative booklet.

Now, he hopes the North will properly honour one of its greatest innovators. The petition is available online at https://chng.it/jtxyrGXbt4