Beginning with the early settlement of Upper Canada and for most of the 20th century, Massey-Harris, or as was later known, Massey-Ferguson, was one of the largest agricultural implement companies in the world and one of Canada's largest corporations. Massey products were sold all over the world and the company was an international leader in developing innovative farm machinery.

Daniel Massey (1798-1856) began manufacturing farm implements at Bond Head but moved to Newcastle in 1849. Alanson Harris (1816-94) established a foundry at Beamsville in 1857, and relocated to Brantford in 1872. First known as the Massey Manufacturing Co. in 1870, the company moved its headquarters to Toronto in 1879 and competed in international markets. In 1891, Massey and A. Harris and Son Co. merged to form Massey-Harris Company Ltd. Others mergers included Bain Wagon Company (1896), Patterson Brothers & Co. (1891), J.O. Wisner, Son and Co. (1891), W.H. Verity & Sons (1892), and Johnston Harvester Company (1910) located in Batavia, New York. The company became Massey-Harris-Ferguson Limited with the Harry Ferguson merger in 1953 that added an important tractor component; this was strengthened with the merger with F. Perkins Ltd. (1959) which specialized in diesel engines. Massey-Harris prospered in the 1960's and 1970's with its tractor and combine production lines but declined in a rapidly changing farm equipment market during the 1980's.

The Massey-Harris-Ferguson Collection exemplifies the history and growth of the industrial corporation in Canada's past. It is an important resource for researchers in Canadian rural and agricultural history. The collection covers the period 1806-1986 and includes pamphlets, brochures and circulars, photographs, magazines, correspondence, annual reports, marketing material, sales agreements, biographies; as well, it documents the company's production and history in Canada and overseas including many firms that joined Massey. In addition, there are important literary magazines encouraged by Hart Massey--the Trip Hammer, Massey's Illustrated and Massey's Magazine. Currently, materials may be searched in the library catalogue, Primo, using keywords and the phrase "Massey-Harris-Ferguson Collection."