Company History
Harold (2nd from left) and Floyd Fisher (far right) founded the Fisher organization in 1925, operating it under the name Fisher Implement Company.
Fisher Farm & Lawn takes its name from founders Harold and Floyd Fisher. They told the story that one day, in the fall of 1925, they went to Portland to buy a tractor and came home with a John Deere dealership. Over the next few decades, Fisher Implement Company grew. This growth included purchasing the Halsey John Deere dealership in 1938, moving the Albany store to a larger location on Pacific Boulevard in 1943, and purchasing the Corvallis dealership in 1954. In 1959, Harold Fisher died unexpectedly, and in 1964, Mrs. Fisher sold the company to part-owner Everett Richards and his son, Jim.
Fisher's Pacific Blvd, Albany, facility was constructed in 1943.
The store continued to grow under the Richards’ ownership. In 1965, they opened a store in Independence (which was later relocated to Salem) and in 1973 they replaced the Halsey store with a new, modern facility in Harrisburg. They added the Hillsboro John Deere dealership to their family of stores in February 1990.
After fifty-five years at their location on Pacific Boulevard, in 1998, the company built a new 45,000 square foot facility on six acres of land in Tangent.
In response to both market changes and John Deere Company requirements, The Fisher-Ernst Group was formed in 1999. This corporation joined the four Fisher Implement Company stores, in Tangent, Harrisburg, Salem, and Hillsboro, and the Ernst holdings, which included Ernst Hardware and Irrigation in St. Paul and Cascade Tractor and Implement Company of McMinnville. Shortly after the Group was formed, they added Burgh Machinery, of Gresham, to their family of stores. These combined resources allowed the Group to improve every facet of their sales and service.
Three gnerations of Fisher owners (l-r): Pat, Jim, and Everett Richards, 1995.
The year 2005 brought more changes to the company. Fisher had a shift in management when Pat Richards became president and general manager. Then, in June of that year, they purchased the Lenon Implement Company, of Woodburn.
The St. Paul and Woodburn stores joined resources in a new facility, in nearby Donald, in 2009. Its location next to I-5 and on a future major east-west arterial is it a more convenient location for a large segment the existing customer base and positions the company to take advantage of anticipated metro growth.
Now, with the resources of seven Willamette Valley stores and approximately two hundred employees, Fisher Farm & Lawn is both committed and able to provide the highest level of quality equipment, sales, and service to the people of the Willamette Valley.
