Archives West Finding Aid

The manufacturing plant known as Idaho National Harvester Company was founded around 1904 by Gainford Mix and his older brother Ulyssess. Cornelius Quesnell and A.M. Anderson had a dream and a design to make a horse drawn/pushed grain harvester, but they did not have the capital to back the project. The Mix brothers were able to provide the financing of a prototype. Jerome Day (Gainford's brother-in-law) was also called upon for financial backing. This combination of investment and ingenuity lead to the "Little Idaho" being produced. It was called that because it was smaller and lighter than its competition. The harvester cut 4 foot swaths and required 4 horses and 2 men to operate. It was eventually redesigned to cut 8 foot swaths and use 6-8 horses depending on the grade of the land. Demand quickly outpaced production capacity. Eleven factory workers need a week to build the 1909 model. Two years later, interest spread to South America and Russia, but the plant could only produce two harvesters per week. Later, in the aftermath of World War 1, gas powered engines replaced the Little Idaho and production ceased entirely.