Deere & Company began when John Deere, born in Rutland, Vermont, United States, on February 7, 1804, moved to Grand Detour, Illinois, in 1836,[5] to escape bankruptcy in Vermont. Already an established blacksmith, Deere opened a 1,378-square-foot (128 m2) shop in Grand Detour in 1837, which allowed him to serve as a general repairman in the village, as well as a manufacturer of tools such as pitchforks and shovels.