In late-1938, Harry Ferguson demonstrated one of his tractors to Henry Ford. The duo entered into a “handshake agreement” and Ford began producing the Ford 9N tractor in 1939, essentially a Ferguson design. Following WWII, Ford reneged on the agreement, Ferguson sued, and Ford was forced to pay Ferguson one of the largest settlements in Ford history to date. Ferguson set about expanding his business in Europe and in the early 1950s, merged with Massey Harris of Canada to become Massey Ferguson.

The TO-20 tractor was produced in Detroit, Michigan, from 1948–1951 and is powered by a 20.7-hp 120-cu. in. Continental Z-120 inline four-cylinder gasoline engine. Transmission is a constant mesh four-speed with reverse. This example was originally purchased by the New Mexico Highway Department to cut grass along the famous Route 66 from Gallup, New Mexico, to the Arizona border. It was taken out of service in the 1970s and stored by the Highway Department until it was sold in the 1980s.

The tractor was purchased at a 2006 estate sale by Phil Jones, a Tucson, Arizona, Ford and Massey Ferguson tractor restorer. Jones was commissioned by the Tallahassee, Florida, Auto Museum to do a nut-and-bolt restoration (along with seven other Ford and M-F tractors) as part of a public display at the Museum. The tractors were completed in 2007, but the Museum lost its funding and the tractor display was cut short. The tractors, including this example, were sold in 2009.

The tractor has been in a private collection and never used or shown while in the consignor’s collection. Included in the sale are the operation and maintenance manuals, vintage ad, and period New Mexico road maps.