Harry Ferguson, born in 1884, started experimenting with tractors and plows in his early years. Harry is an important person in tractor history, being the inventor of the 3-point hitch. It was dubbed the "Ferguson System". After meeting with Henry Ford in 1938, over a handshake it was agreed that the 3-point hitch system would be installed on the Ford tractors being produced at that time (Ford 9N from 1939-1942 and the 2N from 1942-1947). These tractors had the "Ferguson System" insignia on them and Harry Ferguson received a share of the profits.
In 1947 Henry Ford's Grandson officially terminated this "handshake agreement". The Ford 8N tractors that were being produced around this time no longer carried the "Ferguson System" insignia. Ferguson sued the Ford Motor Co. and eventually won a settlement.

In what some say is retaliation, Harry Ferguson began producing his own line of tractors, beginning with the TO-20 in 1948. These tractors looked surprisingly similar to the Ford 9N and 2N and sported the 3-point hitch.

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