The Garton family is in its 7th generation in California and its 4th generation as tractor dealers. Since 1954 Garton has been a pillar of support for the agriculture and construction community, starting with Ford and continuing to add innovative, quality brands.
A look back at important dates along the way.
1953
W.W. "Bill" Cornforth purchases the Ford tractor dealerships in Modesto and Turlock from Green and Berry, adding to Ford stores he already ran in Reedley and Hanford. The Reedley operation dated to the 1940s; Cornforth had been its sole owner since 1949.
1954
Bill Cornforth's son-in-law, Vernon K. "Bud" Garton, is assigned management of the Turlock operation. The first store sits on Center Street between Main Street and Olive Avenue. The Garton name has been on the Turlock business ever since.
1957 to 1961
The Modesto and Turlock dealerships are sold to Bud Garton, Leonard Garton, and Roy Nance in 1957. When the partnership dissolves in 1961, Nance takes Modesto and the Gartons keep Turlock, opening a second Turlock location at East Avenue and Center Street along the way.
1969 to 1975
In 1969 Bud Garton moves the company from downtown Turlock to acreage off old Highway 99, the Golden State Boulevard site the company still calls home. The business incorporates in 1970 with Ford Motor Company as a major stockholder; in 1975 Bud repurchases Ford's stock and returns the dealership to full family ownership.
February 1976
Garton becomes a Kubota dealer in February 1976, just seven years after Kubota first arrived in the United States. Fifty years later, Kubota is the heart of the lineup. The same year, Golden State Rentals is established to meet growing rental demand.
1989 to 2000
Newman joins in 1989, the company's second store. When Ford sells its agricultural division and New Holland becomes the brand, the name changes to Garton Tractor, Inc. in 1996. Stockton follows in 1999 and Tulare in 2000.
2004 to 2023
Santa Rosa (2004), Modesto (2005), Ukiah (2010), Fairfield (2014), Merced (2015), and Woodland (2018) extend the network from the North Bay to the South Valley. In February 2023 the Kuckenbecker dealerships in Madera and Fresno become stores eleven and twelve, reuniting two families whose Ford tractor businesses ran side by side back in the 1940s.
Today
The current lineup spans Kubota, New Holland, Hitachi LANDCROS, specialty agriculture equipment, and precision technology. Call your local Garton Tractor for the products, parts, and service available near you.
From the archive
Take a look through photographs from the Garton family archive, beginning with the Cornforth dealership roots in Reedley and following the business from one location to twelve.
By the numbers
Bud Garton takes over management of the Turlock operation. The family purchases the business in 1957.
California locations from Ukiah on the North Coast to Tulare in the South Valley. Call your local Garton Tractor for current department and brand support.
Quality employees working towards keeping your equipment operation going.
Four generations of family ownership, backed by local sales, parts, service, and customer support.