Bob and Dick Chatterton are brothers who run Chats Tractors. They specialize in vintage International Harvester equipment, and they offer professional appraisals of farm equipment and buy and sell and trade.

In addition to the business side of the hobby, they also have a cool museum with some of their favorite old iron inside. The museum is located three miles west of Ellisville on County Road 17, even though the address is technically Avon, Ill.

The location of the farmstead means a lot to the brothers because this is the original Chatterton farmstead. The farm was established in 1838 and the house was built in 1870 and restored in 1973, said Dick, who lives there with his wife, Mary Ellen.

 Dick and Mary Ellen have six children, and he said he keeps busy with the tractor restoration business and has even had a few International sales. Brother Bob managed the Western Illinois University farm and is now retired, living in nearby Macomb.
Bob, the oldest of five, is also the oldest of three brothers. Besides Bob and Dick, there is Ron, who is not involved in the antique tractor business and museum. Bob and Dick collect tractors and are involved in the buying and selling, but restoration process is Dick’s part of the equation.

Bob has been married to Karen, a local girl, for 45 years. She grew up just a mile away from the home farm. After dating for eight years, the couple settled down and married.

“I was out of high school when we started dating. We both showed a lot of cattle and horses; that is how we hooked up,” he said.
These days, horses are their love – other than tractors. They show both Quarter horses and Paints. The couple have two children and three grandchildren who are also involved with livestock. (Over the Oct. 9-10 weekend, the Oklahoma State Fair was going on in Tulsa and Bob shared that granddaughter Hana won the Showmanship Award in sheep and granddaughter Halie received fifth in the junior division.)

Although primarily Farmall red, Chats Tractor Museum is full of all brands of equipment. The collection includes a few pristine 1954 MTAs along with a Super MT diesel. There is also a beautifully restored McCormick Deering manure spreader from the 1950s.
Bob, like Dick, likes Allis-Chalmers along with Farmall, but said Karen is a John Deere fan. Besides her JD M, she also has an old medicine show wagon that has the logo “Chats Tractors” on the side.

The museum is private and open only by appointment. Details about the brothers’ operation can be found on their website at www.ChatsTractors.com

To contact the Chattertons about their museum or tractor restoration, buying or selling, call Bob at 309-933-5697 or Dick at 309-465-3364.

Readers with questions or comments for Cindy Ladage may write to her in care of this publication.