Farmers Elevator Company Records (Yorkville), 1908-1985 | Northern Illinois University

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.