Book excerpt: An American Workhorse Inventor Jerome Increase Case founded Case in Racine in 1842 to build threshing machines. It was a humble beginning for a company that would eventually become the first builder of steam engines for agricultural use, and eventually emerge as the world's largest maker of steam engines. In 150 years of J.I. Case, farm equipment expert and historian C.H. Wendel chronicles all the developments, innovations, and history that have made the Case name a giant in the world of farming. With more than 2,000 story-telling photos and exhaustive research, Wendel covers every model ever produced by J.I. Case, over a 150-year period, from the earliest steam-powered vehicles to the new generation of multi-purpose wonders.