1953 Massey-Harris Mustang gifted to Delaware Ag Museum

The sons of Newell B. Everett Sr. recently gifted the Delaware Agricultural Museum and Village with a beautifully restored 1953 Massey-Harris Mustang tractor.

Purchased new in 1953 by their father from the W.W. Montague Massy-Harris dealership in Sudlersville, Md., the tractor was used on the family’s 300-acre dairy and grain farm on the northern Eastern Shore of Kent County, Md.  

According to sons Newell Jr. and Spencer Everett, the Mustang was a complement to two Massey-Harris 44s also owned by their father. The Mustang did the light work of pulling planters, drills, hay rakes, wagons and cultivating, while the M-H 44s did the typical heavy-duty work of plowing, working ground, baling hay and picking corn with an M-H mounted picker. With three hardworking Massey-Harris tractors in their shed, the Everett family was able to expand beyond their own farm to do some sharecropping and land-leasing, tilling a total of 700 acres until deciding to end farming in 1961. With that decision came the sale of almost all of the farm equipment – but not the Mustang.

The Mustang tractor continued to be used by Newell Everett Sr. on his large garden and truck patch. However, by the early 1980s the tractor was in poor running condition, and it had been committed to storage at the time of his death in 1987.

From time to time, brothers Newell Jr. and Spencer talked about having the Mustang restored, but it was not until 2002 that they committed to doing it. Hiring John J. Hill to do the restoration, the brothers pulled the Mustang out of the garage for Hill’s inspection. Noting the good news that the motor was not frozen, Hill thought he had something to work with. Starting the restoration in October 2002, Hill went about using his contacts to find the needed replacement parts. The gas tank came from the Midwest, the side panels came from the West Coast, and the motor and radiator were reconditioned locally. Dismantling the entire tractor, Hill sandblasted, painted and put it back together piece by piece. New tires corresponding to the originals were purchased, and the electrical system was returned to its original 6-volt state. In less than six months, Hill returned the fully and beautifully restored 1953 Massey-Harris Mustang to the grateful Everett brothers, who looked with sentimental pride upon this living memory of so much of their family’s rich agricultural heritage.

And, now, after 17 years of enjoying the results of their perseverance and John Hill’s exquisite workmanship, and reaping many Best in Show awards locally, nationally, and in Canada, the Everett brothers have generously donated this beautiful tractor to the Delaware Agricultural Museum and Village, where it will be prominently displayed for years to come. The museum is proud to accept this magnificent gift and grateful to the entire Everett family for their willingness to share the 1953 Massey-Harris Mustang with the people of Delaware.