Farmers Elevator Company Records (Yorkville)

Collection — Multiple Containers

Identifier: RHC-RC-109

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

Primarily a collection documenting financial history, the Farmers Elevator Company Records trace the development of a large agribusiness in Kendall County, Illinois. Records date from 1908 to 1985 and include an incomplete set of meeting minutes containing the articles of incorporation and lists of stockholders, the constitution and by-laws, audit reports (1930-1975), correspondence, legal agreements, court claims, and financial ledgers. The financial ledgers document grain sales, shipments, and purchases, and coal sales. Of particular interest is the correspondence from the United States Food Administration (1917-1918) describing company reporting procedures for railroad shipments and grain purchases.

Dates

created: 1908-1985
Other: Date acquired: 08/27/1980

Conditions Governing Access

There are no restrictions on access to the collection.

Conditions Governing Use

Property rights in the collection remain with the Farmers Elevator Company; literary rights are dedicated to the public.

Biographical or Historical Information

Incorporated on October 3, 1908, the Farmers Elevator Company’s first board of directors elected J. Wampah, president, Lewis Christiansen, vice president, E. B. Thomas, secretary, L.C. Martner, treasurer, and appointed Guy Corzine, company manager. The Porport property in Yorkville, Illinois, purchased for $2500 on December 5, 1908, became the site of the company’s first business offices and elevators. On October 26, 1912, the firm approved a second elevator site in Kentland, Illinois. Annual picnics, started in 1909, provided social entertainment br stockholders and company employees. In February, 1909 the Farmers Elevator Company signed an agreement with the Chicago, Burlington, and Quincy Railroad which agreed to construct a side track to the elevator to facilitate shipping and receiving operations. Two years later the Fox and Illinois Union Railroad built a short line between Yorkville and Morris, Illinois connected to the C. B. & Q. railroad in Yorkville. The Kentland elevator site used this track for moving grain, coal, and lumber. Working closely with area agribusinesses, the Farmers Elevator Company provides needed supplies to the farmers of Kendall County.

Note written by

Extent

25.50 Linear Feet

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Source of Acquisition

Steve Bazan

Method of Acquisition

Steve Bazan, President, deposited the Farmers Elevator Company Records with the Regional History Center on August 27, 1980.

Accruals and Additions

An addendum was added at a later date.

Related Materials

Researchers should note other collections held by the Regional History Center documenting agribusiness in northern Illinois: Embree Lumber Company (RC 7); Lindenwood Grain Co-op (RC 11); Uplinger Lumber, Grain, and Coal Company (RC 16); Mighell and Wakefield Smithy, Grain and Coal Company (RC 22); H. W. Colwill Collection (RC 47); North Corn Belt Seed Growers, Inc. (RC 90); Colehour Grain Elevator (RC 91); Will-DuPage Service Company (RC 94); Kendall-Grundy FS Company (RC 105); and the DeKalb, Kane, Winnebago, DuPage, Carroll, Kendall, and Grundy County Farm Bureau Collections (RC 52, 76, 79, 87, 96, 103, 106).