During the heyday of the wheat industry in Hardin County, milling was one of the most successful business enterprises.
Milling operations begun by James A. Ledbetter, a native of Christian County, Kentucky, who came into Hardin County in the early Fifties, continued successfully over a period of nearly sixty years. He established a chain of mills at Elizabethtown, Cave-in-Rock, and Tolu, Kentucky, and handled approximately 100,000 bushels of wheat a year, all of it produced in Hardin County. In 1879 Mr. Ledbetter placed operation of the three mills in the hands of his three sons, respectively, with George W. Ledbetter assuming management of the Elizabethtown mill; Henry Ledbetter, the Tolu plant; and James A. Ledbetter, Jr., the mill at Cave-in-Rock. The business operated under the firm name of The Ledbetter Mills and represented the largest business organization of its kind in the southern Illinois and western Kentucky region.
The Hardin County wheat yield at that time was excellent and resulted in a particularly high grade flour. For many years the mills ground only Hardin County wheat, but, in its latter existence, acquired some of its grain from Posey County, Indiana, and Bayou, Kentucky. When home-grown wheat no longer was available in sufficient quantity for the mill demands, the business began to decline because of increased transportation costs.
In 1890 the company disposed of the Tolu mill, and Henry Ledbetter joined his brother, George, in operation of the Elizabethtown and Cave-in-Rock mills under the firm name of Ledbetter Brothers, which was subsequently changed, in 1907, to the Ledbetter Milling Company. During its years of operation the company marketed flour under the trade names of "Silver Floss", "Georgia", "Mora", and "Heiora", the last three brands taking their names from the sons and daughters of the Ledbetter family.
Cave-in-Rock property was sold about 1920 to the Benzon Mining Company, and in 1922 George W. Ledbetter, retiring from business, turned over operation of the Elizabethtown mill to his son, M. D. Ledbetter, who continued the business for six years. The property was finally disposed of in 1930.
Another flour mill operating in Hardin County over a period of a few years was that of Ferrell and Clark, whose plant was situated on the Elizabethtown riverbank. The Ledbetter interests took it over in 1905.
Extracted 28 Aug 2016 by Norma Hass from History of Hardin County, Illinois, written in 1939 by the Committee for the Centennial, pages 46-47.
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