Obviously a city that calls itself the “Hog Capital of the World” should have a strong connection to agriculture and indeed Kewanee does have close ties to the farming community.
Over the years several local industries manufactured products for farm use, but the one that carried the label of “Kewanee” on its machinery was Kewanee Machinery and Conveyor, as you can see on the mural.
The company was founded in 1912 by Wallace Glidden and B.F. Baker, Kewanee Boiler vice president, under the name Kewanee Corn Hanger. After another name change, it became Kewanee Machinery and Conveyor in 1930.
Over the years the company manufactured corn hangers, grain elevators, truck and wagon lifts and wheel-mounted disk harrows, the latter called the “most talked of implement in the industry” in the 1950s and years later.
After Wallace Glidden died in 1920, his brother Ray headed the company, and Ray’s son Robert took over in 1951 serving until it was sold in 1972. The company continued in Kewanee under other names until 1994. Even though the “Kewanee” brand ceased to be produced at that time, the name “Kewanee” can still be seen in farm fields throughout the Midwest.
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