Area News

Century-Old Stronghurst Grain & Merchandise Co. Joins Western Grain Marketing, LLC

By Andrew Postle, The Quill

Stronghurst Grain and Merchandise Company, one of the community’s oldest businesses, was offcially sold on July 3rd to Western Grain Marketing, LLC (WGM). WGM is a Growmark member company with its main office located in Rushville.

In letter sent out to customers, WGM General Manager, Scott Docherty stated: “I am excited to share that Western Grain Marketing, LLC, or as we call it WGM, has purchased the assets of Stronghurst Grain, as of July 3, 2026.

“Stronghurst’s two million bushels of storage and annual grain sales of 2.5 million bushels is a tremendous addition for WGM. I know Stronghurst and Henderson County will complement the current WGM grain assets very well. We are excited to extend our grain marketing services to you and as well as carry on the excellent customer service you’ve come to expect.”

Stronghurst Grain & Mdse. Co. was first organized in 1916. The first meeting was held on August 19, 1916, at Stronghurst State Bank. The first directors were Oscar Sanderson, William Ross, H.N. Vaughn, Edgar Lewis, Charles Heisler, Charles Peasley, Frank Crenshaw, C. R. A. Marshall, and William Hartquist.

In a 1939 article in the Stronghurst Graphic, it states, “The community and especially the stockholders of this company owe much to the public spiritedness and unselfish efforts of these men, and subsequent directors, officers and managers.”

The company was organized with a capital stock of $10,000, and 100 shares were issued at $100 each. In order to keep the stock in as many hands as possible, a provision was made that an individual could own no more than five shares.

W. H. Perrine and Company, a company out of Chicago, had been operating an elevator for a number of years, and it was decided that it would be best to buy their operation rather than compete with it. After considerable back and forth, Stronghurst Grain & Mdse. purchased the elevators in Decorra and Stronghurst for $10,000.

The company saw so much success in the early years that it increased capital stock to $20,000 in 1918. In 1920, the first truck dump in this part of the country was installed. In 1928, an electric motor was placed on the top of the elevator. In 1929, they purchased their first radio. Prior to the radio, market reports were acquired by calls to Galesburg and Macomb two or three times daily. The company sold the Decorra operation in 1937, and in 1938 the office, elevator leg, and dump were all updated.

The Graphic noted, “Few business enterprises have been more successful in serving the public and its stockholders as well as has the Stronghurst Grain & Merchandise Co. … Through prosperity and depression, the directors and managers of the company, with the loyal support of the stockholders and other people of the community, have rendered a real service to the public and, at the same time, built up a surplus, made improvements, maintained everything in good repair, and paid dividends, the average of which makes many big city corporations look like amateurs.”

In October of 1966, the company was reorganized under the Agricultural Co-operative Act. Capital stock was divided into preferred and common stock. In 1988, the Lomax elevator was purchased. From 1991 to 1992, the south pit was updated and four more metal bins were added. A new office was built in 1999, and the north pit was updated. In 2000, they added a 234,000-bushel bin, and in 2002 a massive 684,000-bushel bin was constructed to bring capacity to around 1.3 million bushels.

In 2015, the Lomax elevator was torn down as it was no longer functional. A new leg and two more bins were constructed north of Maple Street in Stronghurst. The second bin went up in 2019 and brought the capacity up to 2.2 million bushels. The last upgrade was a new grain leg constructed in September of 2025 to replace one that was damaged in May of that year due to a grain dust explosion.

WGM was formed in 2008 when the grain divisions of Two Rivers FS,West Central FS, and Riverland FS were combined. 

Since then, through acquisitions as well as the addition of the grain assets of Sunrise FS and Prairieland FS, the company has grown to 26 locations with nearly 40 million bushels of storage and annual grain sales of more than 85 million bushels. 

Today, WGM is a joint venture between Growmark, Sunrise FS, Prairieland FS, and West Central FS. 

Their rail shuttle facility in Adair, has over seven and a half million bushels of storage and is capable of loading more than 90 trains per year (equivalent to 40 million bushels). 

Located on the BNSF Railway, WGM has direct access to markets across North America. The Havana and Beardstown terminals provide direct access to river markets. 

Through Growmark, WGM also has access to international markets as well as grain marketing services offered by Mid-Co Commodities, INC.

This acquisition marks the end of an independent era for Stronghurst Grain & Merchandise Co. 

A community cornerstone since 1916 that weathered wars, depressions, and technological shifts while delivering steadfast service to farmers and stockholders alike. 

The sale ensures the legacy of those early directors and loyal supporters lives on through stronger, more efficient grain marketing for generations to come.