Reinemann’s Grain Elevator

Grain elevators once dotted our towns, villages, and cities, helping many area farmers’ prosper.  While today it is rare that the towering structures remain a fixture in a community, it is even more uncommon for the business to be spurred by five generations of the same family.

Let’s go back to the village of Reedsville in 1872.  The railroad recently made its way through the area and mills, factories and other businesses came to life with over 500 people calling the community their home.  Local resident Peter Reinemann purchased land from Judge George Reed, the founder of Reedsville.  Reinemann and Mr. Peter Hermann built an elevator and a warehouse for grain, located near the Reinemann complex stands today. 

In 1877, Peter Reinemann bought out Hermann, becoming the sole owner of the elevator.  Almost twenty years later a fire destroyed the elevator, nearly ruining Reinemann’s growing business.  Peter decided to rebuild, sold his general store and persuaded the Northern Grain Company to invest in his new elevator.  The Company made an agreement to take Reinemann on commission and after much hard work and dedication; Peter owned the elevator after just six years. 

Fires were a common occurrence in our early communities and again in 1901 a fire broke out on Reinemann’s property, this time destroying the warehouse.  Theories suggest an employee who was smoking started the fire in the upper story of the warehouse.  Ashes fell on the hay and the fire broke out, tragically killing the employee.  The warehouse was later re-built. 

The business became known as Reinemann and Son in the early 1900s when Peter brought his son Edward into the company.  The father and son worked together until Peter died in 1908 when a piece of iron hit him while he was out spotting railroad cars. 

The business was booming in the mid 1930s, leading Reinemann to be known throughout Wisconsin as the “Barley King.”  Expansion was on Edward’s mind and he soon purchased elevators in the nearby communities of Grimms and Cato. 

The third generation of Reinemann’s entered the business in 1951 when Clifford Reinemann took over operations.  Under his management, an elevator was bought in Manitowoc, which ironically was owned by the Northern Grain Company, the company that had assisted Peter Reinemann decades earlier.

Clifford’s son Edward joined the business in the 1960s which led the way for Edward’s son, Paul, to become the fifth generation to take the reins of the family owned elevator.

When Reinemann and Hermann first began their operations, each town had one or more grain elevators that would serve the local farmers.  Today, the elevator that Peter worked so hard to establish still remains a vital part of our community.  When you drive down our county’s roads and highways and you come across an elevator - abandoned or in use - think back to the days of Peter Reinemann and the commitment many have made to our agricultural heritage.