Galesburg, Kansas

The town of Galesburg (originally Galesburgh) is situated near the central part of Neosho County, on the Neosho Division of the Missouri, Kansas & Texas Railroad, seven miles north and five miles west of the city of Parsons. The country surrounding it is a rolling prairie of great fertility, and is excellently adapted to agricultural pursuits. The town was started in the summer of 1871, by a town company, composed of J. W. Crees, David Bonham, E. Sapp, Levi A. Doan, and J. W. Snyder.

An historical tidbit that some "seasoned farmers" may recognize recalls Galesburg's tie to a national agricultural implement - the Du-All Tractor. In 1908, Stanley Shaw commenced manufacturing "motor bicycles" in this small Neosho County town. Shaw's genius and rare mechanical ability allowed him to combine the many components needed to create a motorized bicycle. The Shaw Bike thrilled and amazed people who previously had to depend on horses for personal transport.

In the 1920s when technology upstaged the Shaw Bike, Stanley came up with a concept of a small multipurpose farm tractor he called the Du-All. Various concepts of the original Du-All we marketed until the plant was sold to the Bush-Hog corporation in 1961. Bush-Hog expanded the work force and used the facility to manufacture rotary mowers and tillage equipment. The Du-Alls were the workhorse of the small farms and were shipped as far as the state of Vermont, where a collector currently runs a newsletter on restoring old Du-Alls.

The site where Shaw built farm tractors is now the location of a large metal fabrication plant. Men are still making history with steel in Galesburg.