The Museum received in August 2010 the donation of a 1919 Holt 75 Caterpillar.  It was originally purchased in 1919 by Barrett Brothers farms in Antelope, Sacramento County, California and was used by them into the 1930s.  It was donated to the Museum by the estate of Gerald Barrett and was transported by Hammer Trucking.  After it is restored to running condition in the Museum restoration shop, the Holt 75 will become part of the earthmoving exhibition in the Brown-Jones building. 

The Holt 75 gasoline-powered Caterpillar was the best selling of the tiller-wheel tractors.  Production of the Holt 75 Caterpillar began at Holt Manufacturing Company’s Stockton plant in 1913, and by 1916, both the Stockton and Peoria, Illinois plants were building it.  Most of the tractors produced at the Peoria plant during World War I were used by the military in Europe. 

The Holt 75 Caterpillar had a 75-horsepower engine, was 20 feet long, and weighed 24,000 pounds.  With its front tiller wheel for steering, the Holt 75 had a wide turning radius that worked fine for leveling or working large fields, but which limited its use in certain road construction and other applications. 

The last of the Holt 75 tractors was made in 1924. In 11 years of production (at both plants) about 4,160 Model 75 tractors were made, 1,810 of which were ordered by the military.

The San Joaquin County Historical Museum is delighted to preserve this piece of San Joaquin county history.