Then & Now: Grain Elevator – Mokena

In 1842, the first grain elevator was constructed in Buffalo, New York, by retail merchant Joseph Dart.

Dart’s invention consisted of a wooden structure that served as storage bins for grain. Loading the grain into this structure was a steam-driven belt, which had buckets attached to it. As the belt with buckets was lowered into the hold of a ship, the buckets would scoop up the grain and hoist it up into the structure, where it was dropped into tall bins.

This is where the term “elevator” originated because this is exactly what the process did. It elevated the grain from the ship and stored it in bins until it was lowered for transport or for milling purposes.

Dart and others soon discovered that the elevator’s bins kept grain dry, cool, and free from pests, which could destroy the entire load. The elevators also made it possible to weigh the grain as it was being stored and test for purity and contaminants.

Soon the grain elevator system evolved and became an important part of Chicago’s growth in the 19th century.

As the railroads expanded throughout the Midwest, farmers were able to get their crops from the prairies to the marketplace more quickly and efficiently. The grain elevator soon became part of a new supply chain of industrialized agriculture, which was made possible by the McCormick reaper and the standardized system of grading wheat introduced by the Chicago Board of Trade in 1857.

This system allowed crops of similar quality from a variety of different farmers to be combined by grading for shipping, storage and trading.

To tap into the Chicago market, a large grain elevator was constructed along the south side of the Rock Island Railroad tracks just east of Mokena Street.

The Then photograph shows a view of the Mokena grain elevator, which was operated by William H. Bechstein. Bechstein, who grew up in Mokena, had been employed in the grain business most of his life, getting his start with M. J. Hogan in Seneca.

After returning to Mokena, Bechstein bought the business interests of the Leiss Brothers and conducted his grain business as the William H. Bechstein Grain Company until 1926. Bechstein also was one of the first organizers of the Mokena State Bank in 1909, and in 1925, he was elected president of the bank.

The grain elevator in the photograph was constructed in 1884 shortly after the town of Mokena was incorporated as a village. The grain elevator was supplied with steam power as early as 1878, and by 1910, as much as 100,000 bushels of grain were shipped from Mokena annually.

The historic grain elevator, shown in the Now photograph, still stands today along the Rock Island railroad in downtown Mokena.