Charles Henry Parr House

The Charles Henry Parr House, located in Charles City, Iowa, is a historic building listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1980. Completed in 1902, this 2½-story vernacular frame structure is significant for its association with Charles Henry Parr, co-founder of the Hart-Parr Co., the first company in the U.S. to manufacture farm tractors and credited with coining the term 'tractor.' Parr lived in the house until his death in 1941, and during World War I, the company produced shells for the U.S. Army. After the war, Parr continued his engineering work with Hart-Parr, which eventually merged into the Oliver Farm Equipment Company in 1929. This house offers a glimpse into the life of a pivotal figure in agricultural history.