A towering silhouette stands above the flat, endless expanse of Delaware County’s cornfields. At first, a high-rise emerging from the fields seems improbable. As you draw closer from Highway 3, though, the truth reveals itself: it’s a massive concrete grain elevator! The monolithic structure, part machine and part architecture, looms over the hamlet of Shideler as a skyscraper of the prairie. Here’s some of its story.
As a kid, spotting a town nearby with my name on the sign felt monumental- especially when it boasted such an impressive tower. Later, I learned that the community owes its name to Isaac Shideler, who founded the seven-block community on December 15, 1871, along the old Fort Wayne, Muncie, & Cincinnati Railroad1. Isaac opened a store, ran a post office2, and helped the place grow into a bustling burgh with a schoolhouse, a depot, a tile works, and a mill3. Unfortunately, all my attempts to find some genealogical connection to Isaac Shideler or the hamlet he founded have been entirely unsuccessful.
Shideler’s iconic grain elevator arrived nearly half a century after the village was founded. Back in 1919, the Indiana Farmers’ Grain Dealers’ Association announced plans to invest $50,000 to $60,000 in building four large facilities across Delaware County. The organization already managed 125 elevators statewide, but it had little presence hereabouts. That -and the future of Shideler- changed when three hundred curious farmers gathered at the town’s Methodist Episcopal Church to hear the ambitious construction plans4.
Aside from the proposed elevator at Shideler, the IFDGA planned facilities in Royerton, Selma, and Yorktown5, with a fifth under consideration for Medford. All five were eventually built, but Shideler’s elevator stood in a league of its own. Completed in 1920, the towering 90-foot structure6 dwarfed its peers. In fact, it probably became the tallest building in the county! As far as my research has taken me, it was second only to the steeple of St. Lawrence Catholic Church until 1926, when the Masonic Temple in Muncie was completed.
In 1921, the Shideler elevator contributed to a railcar-sized gift of corn given by Delaware County farmers to the European Relief Society, an organization formed to help alleviate famine in Central Europe7. The following year, the elevator advertised No. 1 Red Clover Seed at $15 a bushel, Alsike Clover Seed at $12, Timothy Seed for $3.50, Grimm Alfalfa Seed for $30, and 21-lb. Sacks of Gold Medal Flour for $1.108.
Shideler’s graded schoolhouse closed after the 1922-23 school year, and its post office was shuttered in 19299. Despite the losses, the elevator remained the steadfast heart of the community. Many locals worked there over the years, including Betty Russell. She joined the office staff fresh out of high school in 1948. One unforgettable day, Betty braved the climb to the top of the towering structure. Terrified every step of the way, she later admitted it was a nerve-wracking experience11. I’d have been petrified too!
The Shideler elevator operated for another two decades before Fritz Schnepf purchased it from the Delaware County Farm Bureau Co-op in 196812. Schnepf, a native of Flora, Indiana, sold farm and elevator equipment for thirteen years before he came to Delaware County13. Without wasting any time, he set out to grow the business. In 1969, he designed and installed a custom 15,000-bushel grain dryer14 that enhanced the facility’s capabilities.
The Schnepf family owned the Shideler landmark for fifty-six years. Ultimately, they expanded the facility to a capacity of 1.7 million bushels! That included 1.2 million bushels of upright storage and 460,000 bushels of storage in concrete. Along with a Norfolk Southern rail spur with a fifty-car capacity, Shideler even owned a GE 60-ton locomotive purchased from Ball Brothers!
The Schnepf family stewarded Shideler Grain into a new era even as most of Delaware County’s other elevators went the way of the dodo. Although few rivaled Shideler’s in height, elevators were once the heartbeat of nearly every rural community! They towered over small towns as symbols of local industry and prosperity. Shideler’s continues to, even as it entered a new chapter last year. In 2024, the Schnepfs sold the business to Yoder Grain- another family-run business with five locations across northeastern Indiana15.
In 2025, the massive Shideler elevator still stands as the heart of its community even though more than a century has passed since it was first constructed. To passerby, the towering landmark remains a striking contrast to the sprawling open fields that define the surrounding landscape. To locals, it remains a vital hub in a region steeped in agricultural tradition. I’m proud to share a name with Shideler’s elevator, and I hope it continues to thrive for another hundred years.
Sources Cited
1 Haimbaugh, F.D. (1924). History of Delaware County, Indiana. Volume I. Historical Publishing Company [Indianapolis]. book.
2 Kemper, G. W. H. (1908). Education in Delaware County. In A Twentieth Century History of Delaware County, Indiana, Volume 1. book, Lewis Publishing Company.
3 Griffing, B. N. (1887). Mt. Pleasant Township. An atlas of Delaware County, Indiana . map, Philadelphia, PA; Griffing, Gordon, & Company.
4 Plan Erection of 4 Elevators In This County (1919, March 7). The Muncie Evening Press. p. 16.
5 (See footnote 4).
6 Russell, J. & Shideler, T. (2024, October 22). Personal communication.
7 Collect Corn For European Relief (1921, April 13). The Muncie Star. p. 13.
8 No. 1 Red Clover Seed (1922, March 9). The Muncie Star. p. 13.
9 Delaware County Public Schools. (1923). School directory, Delaware County public schools, Delaware County, Indiana 1923-1924. Muncie, IN.
10 “Delaware County”. Jim Forte Postal History. Web. Retrieved 12/31/21.
11 Russell, J. & Shideler, T. (2024, December 30). Personal communication.
12 Shideler Grain Elevator Sold (1968, July 9). The Muncie Star. p. 2.
13 Fritz Schnepf, Jr. (2023, November 15). The Muncie Star Press. p. A6.
14 Shideler Elevator Grain Dryer (1968, November 11). The Muncie Evening Press. p. 16.
15 Shideler Grain Co and Schnepf Trust (n.d.). Halderman Real Estate & Farm Management. Web. Retrieved December 31, 2024.
Wow, it’s good to see a small town with its heart still beating healthily.
Something becoming less and less common.
My dad, Merrill Wilson, worked at the Shidler Elevator during the 1930’s. He spoke of delivering coal.
Very interesting!