In 1837 he developed the steel plow & tested it on Lewis Crandall's farm near Grand Detour, Illinois
... By early 1838, Deere 
completed his first steel plow and sold it to a local farmer, Lewis Crandall, who... [DOC] [TLE] John Deere History - World Collectors Net [PAR] He fashioned such a plow in 1837, using the steel from a broken saw blade, and 
successfully tested it on the farm of Lewis Crandall near Grand Detour.