The History of Central Illinois Ag

For 125 years, Central Illinois Ag has been involved in the farm implement business. The business actually began with Richard Schmidt’s immigration to Atlanta, Illinois from Germany in 1881. Upon his arrival from Germany in 1881, Richard Schmidt began work for Mr. Demer Rhodes, the local blacksmith. Richard worked for Mr. Rhodes for several years, learning the ‘smithy’ business. In 1895, Richard married Minnie Butler and set up housekeeping. Three years later, two events occurred which would eventually set the course for the business: Richard purchased the blacksmith shop from Mr. Rhodes and his son, Paul A. Schmidt was born. 

The first shop, a two-story building, was located near the railroad on First Street. The lower level was a general blacksmith shop. A day’s work consisted of shoeing horses, sharpening plow shares, and general welding, all very hard, physical labor. The firing of the metal was done in two coal-fired forges and then it was pounded into shape on avails. The second floor of the building housed a complete wagon and buggy manufacturing facility and repair shop. Finished buggies and wagons were moved upstairs using an outdoor ramp. 

Around 1915, Richard purchased a gas engine to power a set of overhead line shafts which ran various machines by individual belts. This engine powered a 75 pound trip hammer to forge metal once done by human hand, a punch and sheer to cut iron, a drill press, and a thread cutting machine. This was the beginning of automation for the business. Eventually the gas engine was replaced by an electric motor.

In 1916, Richard’s son, Paul, graduated from Atlanta High School and joined his father in the business. When World War I started in 1917, Paul went into the armed services and served a tour of duty in France. Upon his son’s return in 1918, Richard had added a line of horse-drawn implements to the blacksmithing business - the beginning of the family farm implement business as we know it today.

Introduction of Farm Implements into the Business

The first horse-drawn implements sold by the business were manufactured by Emerson-Braningham Company. That line of implements included horse-drawn gang plows, sickle mowers and disk harrows. The blacksmithing business flourished as the bulk of farm power was still furnished by horses.

1926 became a notable year for the business; Richard Schmidt died and his son, Paul, took over the business. In that same year, the Emerson-Braningham Company was bought out by J.I. Case Company of Racine, Wisconsin, and Paul Schmidt signed his first contract with J.I. Case Company, the beginning of 97 years of continuous service to the local farm community. Two years later, Paul and his wife Ruth, had a son, Richard E. Schmidt, the third generation.

The Great Depression

With the onset of the Great Depression in the 1930’s, the word for the next several years was “survival”. In 1933, total cash sales for Paul Schmidt were less than $1,500. In order to keep the business going, a large portion of the work done was either for barter or charged on the book. Few tractors and machines were sold at this time. The business survived once again on blacksmith work and welding. Life was hard for farmers. A bushel of corn was worth 10¢. The heat wave and great drought of 1936 caused many crop failures and that winter was one of the coldest on record.

The beginning of Farm Modernization

1937 seemed to be the turning point in the farm machinery business. The economy had picked up and the Great Depression appeared to be over. Paul purchased two train carloads of Case two-row corn pickers. The cost of these machines was approximately $900. Modern combines that could be pulled by a tractor began to replace the threshing machines. 

The farm economy was on an upswing. The practice of trading horses and cows for new machines was common-place. At one time, Paul had eight horses and two cows boarded at Hoblit Farms south of Atlanta. The late 1930’s introduced rubber tractor tires, taking the place of steel-lugged wheels. This enabled the farmers to travel faster, provided more traction in the fields, and made local road commissioners happier.

World War II

Few farm machines were made with the onset of World War II in 1941. Farm machinery manufacturers turned their efforts to making war equipment. The bulk of the business at the blacksmith shop was that of repairing old equipment. By the end of the war in 1946, Paul Schmidt had built a new modern tractor shop, a parts room and office facility.

Growth of Farm Machinery/Decline in Blacksmithing

It was always Richard E. Schmidt’s intention to join the family business. He graduated from Atlanta High School in 1946 and was accepted at the University of Illinois. After one year at college, Richard returned home to help manage the business. In 1950, Richard was drafted into the U.S. Army and served a tour in Korea. At the same time, post-war sales increased and the business flourished. By the end of the Korean Conflict in 1953, the business had changed from a blacksmith shop selling some machinery to a farm machinery dealership doing some blacksmith work. Richard returned home from the war and in January of 1953 married Dema Smith. One year later, the future fourth generation to take over the business, Steven Paul Schmidt, was born.

Technological Advances/Business Growth

The late 1950’s brought major growth to the business and to the farm economy. In 1958, Case Company introduced their first automatic tractor transmission. This was the beginning of major technological advances for farm machinery manufacturers. Machinery was becoming larger and more sophisticated.

With the addition of the New Idea farm machinery line in 1960, Richard E. Schmidt broadened the business’s customer base twofold. First, to include a larger group of farmers, and second, to the seed corn industry. New Idea appealed no only to area farmers but to the seed corn industry because of its introduction of self-propelled corn harvesters. With the addition of this new equipment line, an additional building was erected at the downtown location in 1968 so that machinery could be repaired inside where it was sheltered from the weather. Paul A. Schmidt and Son employed five people at this time. Sadly, the decade closed with the passing of Paul A. Schmidt on February 4, 1969.

Schmidt Implement Company

Schmidt Implement Company was formed in 1970. Good grain prices during the mid-1970’s encouraged rapid growth in the business. In 1976, Dick’s son, Steven P. Schmidt, graduated from Illinois Wesleyan University, Bloomington, Illinois, with a degree in business administration. Shortly after graduation, Steven joined the family business.

The growth of the business determined the fate of the original blacksmith shop. It had become apparent that the business had outgrown its original downtown location; a move was required. An eight-acre tract of land was purchased on the south edge of Atlanta. The business would be bordered by I-55 and U.S. 66. An 11,200 square foot metal building was constructed on the site in May of 1978, doubling the original shop size. The new site, once the northwest edge of the old Atlanta fairgrounds, is marked by a cornerstone. The day of the village blacksmith had passed on.

This was a busy time for both Richard and Steven Schmidt.  1977 welcomed the birth of son Michael to Steven Schmidt, daughter Jenni was to follow in 1979. The fifth generation of Schmidt’s had arrived.

For Richard, 1978 found him elected to the office of president of the J.I. Case Dealer Council. This council was formed to provide a common link between dealers and corporate management.

Schmidt-Marcotte, Inc.

The business continued to flourish under the government’s PIK (payment-in-kind) program and in 1985, two major equipment lines, J.I. Case and International Harvester, merged to become Case International. This merger eventually precipitated another partnership. On November 1, 1987, two Logan County farm equipment dealers joined forces: Schmdit Implement Company and Marcotte International, Inc. of Lincoln.  This merger became operational under the name of Schmidt-Maroctte International, Inc. resulting in the closure of the Marcotte dealership on Woodlawn Road in Lincoln. With the merger came the construction of two more buildings and doubled the number of employees.

William (Bill) Marcotte brought to the business 21 years of association with International Harvester products. Bill graduated from Southern Illinois university in 1966 with a degree in agriculture. He worked for International Harvester as a sales rep out of their Peoria office. In 1973, he was transferred to t Lincoln, Illinois as an assistant manager and purchased the dealership in 1974. He had been owner/operator until the merger in 1987. 

Evans Implement

In 1992, Schmidt-Marcotte further enhance their central Illinois leadership in agriculture implement sales by merging with Evans Implement of Lawndale. David Evans closed his business in Lawndale, purchased stock in Schmidt-Marcotte, and joined the Schmidt’s and Bill Marcotte as a business partner. This merger provided the company with their second major farm equipment manufacturer - New Holland - as well as several short line companies including Kinze, an industry leader in planting equipment.

David Evans’ family has been involved in the farm equipment business since 1953. That year his grandfather and uncle, John Cox and John R. Cox, started Cox Implement Company, an Allis-Chalmers dealership in Lincoln. Cox Implement flourished and in 1966 they moved their business to Lawndale to accommodate the business’ growth and need for space. In 1979, David and his father, Tom, bought the dealership and operated it under the name of Evans Implement. As the years passed, the Allis-Chalmers dealership grew with the addition of Steiger, Kinze, New Holland, and a host of short line companies. Tom Evans retired in 1991. That same year Dave’s son, Tim Evans, joined the business. 

Schmidt-Marcotte’s merger with Evans resulted in greatly expanded customer services in areas including sales and parts.

In December 1998, Michael Schmidt graduated from Western Illinois University with a degree in agriculture and joined his father, Steve Schmidt, in the business, marking five generations in the farm implement business.

George H. Dunn

George Dunn was born on a farm near Beardstown, IL and received his education at the University of Illinois. After completing his degree in Business, he worked in several positions for the International Harvester Co. in Springfield, IL. 

In the fall of 1941, he enlisted in the Navy and was stationed at the Great Lakes. He was commissioned in September 1942 and after graduating from Harvard Supply Officers School, moved to Norfolk, VA. He received orders to go overseas from San Francisco and departed July 2 on a cargo ship for Honolulu. He then was stationed at Paupau Island where repairs were made to amphibious tanks used to invade Okinawa. Following WWII, he became territory sales manager for International Harvester in Springfield. 

He had to locate a buyer for a machinery business in Farmer City and decided to take the risk and bought the business from Robert Cord. He created the George H. Dunn Implement business in 1947.  At that time the International Harvester contract included farm machinery, motor trucks, refrigerators, and service. The business was located on the square in Farmer City.

A second George H. Dunn location was opened in Clinton, Il in 1977.  By this time, George had brought both of his sons-in-law, Tim Reeser and Mike McCartney, into the business.  Tim moved his family to Clinton and became the manager of that location.  The success of the Clinton store along with a need for more space resulted in the move to the store’s current location in 1983.  

In 1986, George took a step back letting Mike to manage the Farmer City location and Tim to continue managing the Clinton location.

George H. Dunn Merges to Create Central Illinois Ag

In 2001 another merger occurred as George H. Dunn joined Schmidt-Marcotte, Inc, resulting in the business changing it’s name to Central Illinois Ag, Inc. George H. Dunn was an International Harvester dealer with locations in Farmer City and Clinton, managed by Tim Reeser and Brian Reeser. George H. Dunn was the father-in-law to Tim Reeser and the grandfather to third generation, Brian Reeser.

Dealership Faces Challenge

In 2013, Central Illinois Ag caught fire at the Atlanta location, burning the main building to the ground and leaving only one building and a part of the shop behind.  Business continued and the employees worked out of trailers as the rebuilding process occurred. After the rebuild occurred, the business opened its doors in the new building which sits at the same location off of I-55 and U.S. 66.

Celebrating 125 Years

Central Illinois Ag celebrates it’s 125th year of in 2023. We also celebrate the beginning of business for George H. Dunn in 2023 with 75 years since the dealership opened its doors in Farmer City. Together, the five merged dealerships, now known as Central Illinois Ag continue to be family owned and managed by Steve Schmidt, Michael Schmidt, Brian Reeser, and Tim Evans with locations in Atlanta, Clinton, Farmer City, and Mason City, Illinois.