Fenlon Farmall Super A
Fenlon Farmall Super A
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| Restored Farmall Tractor, summer 2018 |
My great-grandfather Edward J. Fenlon Sr. (1879-1965) did
some farming at the Fenlon homestead on Falls Road in Marcellus. In the early days of farming he used horses to work the fields. He had a horse named Mamie and for haying he would borrow a
second horse from his neighbors the Haneys.
His grandson Mark Fenlon remembers the farm had two or three cows, a
similar number of pigs, and 10-15 chickens.
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| Catherine and Frank Kilcoyne on Mamie in 1928 |
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| Edward J. Fenlon, Sr (1879-1965) with horse team at Falls Road.
Although the Amish still use mule teams
for farming, most farmers converted to tractors in the first half of the 20th
century. Edward did so as well when he
purchased an International Harvester Farmall Super A tractor in May 1949. He bought it for $1475 from
C. W. Grapotte in Skaneateles. (Fun fact -- Grapotte was born in Watertown and served as the mayor of Skaneateles in the 1950s.) The
original bill of sales also indicate he purchased a model A-144 cotton and
corn cultivator with spring tooth harrow for $86.32 and a model A-193 14-inch
land plow with coulter for $78.00 at the same time. This was a significant investment, in 2018
dollars the total bill would be equivalent to ~$15,620. On 2 May 1950 Edward upgraded to a model A-189 16-inch uphill/downhill plow.
Janet Fenlon Dippold, Edward J. Fenlon, Sr., and Mark W. Fenlon (my dad) with the Farmall in 1950s.
1948 Literature about the Farmall Super A
One of Edward's grandsons, Brian Fenlon of Copenhagen, NY, owned this tractor for many years and used it for plowing, mowing, and snow removal before he got a new Kubota tractor several years ago.
 
Brian Fenlon using the Farmall to plow in April 2010.
This Farmall remained in the Fenlon family for over 70 years before Brian sold it on 4 June 2018. The photos below show the state of the tractor when it was sold.
 
The buyer was Paul Aubin who also lives in Copenhagen and he worked to restore the Farmall. The photos below show the tractor after the restoration and I imagine it looks just as it did when it was brand new in 1948. It is really amazing to me -- great job Paul!!!
Brian Fenlon and Paul Aubin with the restored Farmall Super A
Restored Farmall Summer 2018
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