1865 - 1899

1865

W. W. Cargill leaves the family home in Janesville, Wisconsin and becomes the proprietor of a grain flat house in Conover, Iowa. The flat house, a type of warehouse that preceded country elevators, was at the end of the McGregor & Western Railroad line.

1867

W. W. Cargill and his younger brother, Sam, form a partnership, W. W. Cargill and Brother. W. W. moves to Lime Springs, Iowa, where the business constructs a grain flat house and opens a lumberyard.

1868

W. W. Cargill marries Ellen Stowell in Ossian, Iowa, and moves to Austin, Minnesota, where he builds his first Minnesota flat house. W. W. acquires storehouses to take advantage of the great post-war agricultural and railroad expansion throughout the plains.

1870

W. W. Cargill's business is headquartered in Albert Lea, Minnesota, to take advantage of the expansion of the Southern Minnesota Railroad. About this time W. W.'s brother, Sylvester S. Cargill, becomes independent, eventually establishing the Victoria Elevator Company in Minneapolis.

1875

W. W. Cargill moves his family and headquarters to La Crosse, Wisconsin. The city is a logical choice because it is the point at which the Milwaukee Road and the Southern Minnesota Division connect. James F., one W. W. Cargill's younger brothers, joins the family business.

1881

W. W. Cargill begins to build a family mansion in La Crosse, Wisconsin. It becomes a showplace in the town, and was built across the street from Duncan McMillan's home, setting the stage for the joining of the two families.

1884

John H. MacMillan goes to work in his father's bank in La Crosse, Wisconsin. John is 15-years old. W. W. Cargill & Bro. in La Crosse is formally separated from Minnesota and the Dakotas by the establishment of Cargill Brothers in Minneapolis.

1885

The three Cargill brothers own or control 102 structures in Minnesota and the Dakotas, with a total grain capacity of over 1.6 million bushels. with smaller holdings in Iowa and Wisconsin. By this time, Minneapolis and Duluth are identified as prominent grain centers.

1887

W. W. Cargill forms the Sault Ste. Marie Land Company to take advantage of the growth expected after the Soo Line railroad connected the Lock area with Minneapolis. Sam Cargill leaves La Crosse to manage the Minneapolis, Minnesota office.

1890

The Minneapolis operation, under the direction of Sam Cargill, drops the "Cargill Bros." name and incorporates under Cargill Elevator Co.

1891

Three MacMillan brothers, John H., William D., and Daniel D. move to Fort Worth, Texas, to set up a grain business under the name D. D. McMillan & Sons.

1892

W. W. Cargill & Bro. incorporates as W. W. Cargill Company of La Crosse, Wisconsin. Sam Cargill opens an office in Duluth, Minnesota, and the Cargill Commission Company is formed to trade grain in Duluth.

1893

The Superior Terminal Elevator Company, a subsidiary of the Minneapolis Cargill Elevator Company, is established by W. W. and Sam Cargill and Fred Lindahl. A 2.3-million-bushel elevator is constructed at Superior, Wisconsin.

1895

W. W. Cargill and other business associates organize the Soo Land Association in Sault St. Marie, Mich. The improved Sault St. Marie locks open in Canada, linking Lake Superior and Lake Huron. The U.S. locks will open in 1896.

1898

John H. MacMillan, Sr., and and Daniel D. MacMillan return from Texas, and begin to work for W. W. Cargill.

1899

Deaths of three officers of Sawyer and Austin Lumber Company motivates the takeover of management by W. W. Cargill, an investor, and the naming of John H. MacMillan, Sr., as the lumber company's general manager with offices in Pine Bluff, Arkansas.