Colehour Grain Elevator Records (Mt. Carroll)

As the population increased in the northwestern region of Illinois during the mid-1800s, the need for grain proportionally multiplied. John Coleman, an enterprising young businessman, recognized this need and decided to open a grain elevator company in 1869. Today, Mr. Coleman’s great-grandsons successfully continue to run the business he started over one hundred years ago. Over the years, the Colehour grain elevator has gone through four generations of owners. John Coleman’s son-in-law, Fred Henry Colehour came into the business during the late 1890s. Fred’s sons, F. Theodore and C. R. (Jim) Colehour took over the elevator in 1933 naming it Colehour Brothers. Finally, C. R.’s sons, Fred and Richard became the owners, renamed the business, Colehour Elevator, Inc., arid are still managing the enterprise today. As the elevator company changed administratively, the business practices altered. When the elevator first opened it shipped wheat, corn, oats, and barley into the region. Since then soybeans have replaced the barley, and the grains are shipped out to other areas in the country. In the early 1900s, when business slowed down during the summer months, Colehour’s decided to sell dry cement, treated lumber, fencing, coal, and oil. Some of these products still are sold, but the main areas of business are grains, seeds, and fertilizer. Colehour Elevator has survived more than administrative and product changes. The United States Food and Fuel Administrations imposed price controls during World War I and II with which the Colehour’s readily complied. The Colehour’s also established an on-the-job training program through the Veterans Administration in 1945. This program was in operation until 1950. Now in its 111th year, Colehour Elevator, Inc. continues to offer a wide variety of services to it’s customers.

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