Garton Tractor Information

Garton Tractor, Inc.'s roots began in 1953 when William W. Cornforth purchased the Ford tractor dealerships in Modesto and Turlock from Green and Berry. Bill Cornforth's son-in-law, Vernon K. (Bud) Garton was assigned managerial duties. In 1957 the two dealerships were sold to Vernon K. (Bud) Garton, Leonard Garton and Roy Nance, but the partnership between the two Gartons and Nance was dissolved in 1961. Garton Tractor soon met rapid growth after expanding to the current Golden State Boulevard location in 1969. In 1970, the same year Leonard Garton retired,Garton Tractor joined with Ford Motor Company and created Garton Ford Tractor, Inc.; however, Bud Garton later repurchased Ford's stock in the dealership, returning the company to a family-owned entity. Due to the high demand of rentals, a separate rental business, appropriately named "Golden State Rentals, Inc.", was established in 1976. It has become a year-round business. In 1990, Ford Motor Company sold the agricultural division to Fiat. The new company for agricultural equipment worldwide is "New Holland". Being a core business for Fiat, "New Holland" is a worldwide leader in the production of agricultural equipment. The formation of "New Holland" contributes to our dealership success. The "Ford" name continued until the year 2000. The "Ford" logo was discontinued in January '94, while the "New Holland" logo took precedence. In 1999, New Holland merged with Case creating the corporate Case New Holland entity. New Holland and Case brands are marketed through separate divisions of the parent company. Today, Garton Tractor is still family-owned and operated. Bill Garton joined the company in June 1979 after graduating from the University of the Pacific, Stockton. Tom Garton began in September of 1983, after graduating from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. And Ben and Grant Garton have also joined the business, directing marketing and running the Stockton location respectively. Garton Tractor, Inc. and Golden State Rentals, Inc. have met steady growth by ...