The forerunner of Case tractors, the JI Case Threshing Machine Company, was founded in 1842 by Jerome Increase Case. Their emblem, Old Abe, an American bald eagle was the mascot of Company C of the 8th Wisconsin Regiment during the American Civil War, Case being founded in Racine, Wisconsin.

Their first tractor, based on a traction engine frame, was tested in 1892 but did not go well and was abandoned. They did not revisit tractor design for another 20 years. Like many other companies such as Rumely, Marshall, etc, their first offerings were very large machines using traction engine technology. The initial models were the huge 30-60 and smaller 20-40 in 1912, with the smaller 12-25 model coming on-stream in 1913.

Like other companies such as Parrott & Bull, they offered the tricycle 10-20 model in 1915, following the trend of the times. This model had the engine mounted across the frame rather than along it, and spawned a whole series of “cross-mount” machinery, including the 12-20, 15-27, 18-32 & 24-45. The first tractors were painted a mixture of red and green but the cross-motor machines switched to a uniform grey. However, by the end of the 1920s Case was reverting to a longitudinally mounted engine with the introduction of the Model L.

Around 1929, Case replaced its horsepower-based numbering system with a letter, the 12-20 being re-designated the Model A. The Case C model followed but the row-crop CC version’s sales suffered due to the popularity of IH’s F12. The model R with its distinctive grill inspired by an ear of wheat was introduced in 1936 to fill a gap at the bottom end of the power range but to do so, they had to buy in a petrol engine from Waukesha. In 1939 Case introduced the bright Flambeau Red (orange) paint scheme, and Case L and D (EX for export) models were popular in Great Britain in the post-war years as a result of the Lend-Lease scheme.

Case has a long history of acquisitions having taken over Emersam-Brantingham in 1928 and Rock Island in 1937. They also took over control of France’s SFV in the 1960s and David Brown in 1972. In the 1980s, Case’s Power White and after having absorbed International Harvester in 1982, Power Red paint jobs became more common. Latterly, they’ve merged with New Holland (who themselves merged with Ford & Fordson) to form the massive Case New Holland (CNH) organisation.