In this village named after the Froelich family, John Froelich invented the first successful gasoline-powered tractor able to propel itself backward and forward in 1892, with assistance from blacksmith William Mann in creating this first traction engine. Early in 1893, John Froelich headed the Waterloo Gasoline Traction Engine Company, which built the Waterloo Boy in 1913. John Froelich’s tractor became the forerunner of the John Deere Tractor Company.