The John Deere House and Shop is located in the unincorporated village of Grand Detour, Illinois, near the Lee County city of Dixon.

In one version he recalled the way the polished steel pitchfork tines moved through hay and soil and thought that the same effect could be obtained for a plow.

[6] By early 1838, Deere completed his first steel plow and sold it to a local farmer, Lewis Crandall.

[3] The house is also the only "property type" listed on the National Historic Landmarks' online database entry for the site.

It is furnished with period furniture and household objects that would have been common around the time the Deere family occupied the home.

[2] The front entry leads into the living room where polished wood is found throughout as well as 19th century furnishings.

[8] The team unearthed the location of the original Deere Blacksmith Shop where the first successful steel plow was developed in 1837.

[8] The John Deere House and Shop is historically significant for its influence in the areas of commerce, agriculture, industry, and invention.

His invention was of significance to the entire United States and made large scale cultivation of areas in Illinois, Indiana and Ohio possible.

[4] When the U.S. National Register of Historic Places was established in 1966 the John Deere House and Shop was among the first properties to join that list.