In 1835, James Oliver was 12 years old when his family emigrated from Scotland to Indiana. James landed a job at the St. Joseph Iron Co. in 1847. He learned the molding trade allowing him to invent and perfect the chilled plow. In 1857, his first patent was for hardening the plow exterior and eliminated soft spots that lead to breakage.

James Oliver bought into the South Bend Foundry in 1855. Renamed the South Bend Iron Works in 1868, the foundry had 100 workers and $100,000 in capital. In 1871, the local paper reported:

“if he keeps on improving his plows, it will soon have no rivals in the country.”

In 1874, James Oliver purchased 32 acres of farmland to build the Oliver factory. The new factory was able to produce ~300 plows daily.

In 1901, the company reincorporated as the Oliver Chilled Plow Works, the world’s largest plow manufacturer. With James’ passing in 1908, his son took over the company.