Ginn Grain Company closing doors

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SIDNEY — Ginn Grain Company, located at 132 W. North St. in Sidney, is going out of business. Bruce Kuck, the current owner of the property, said the 125-year-old building on the property will be demolished and the land sold.

In the late 1840s through the mid-1850s, construction plans were made to bring the Bellefontaine and Indiana Railroad, an east-west rail line, and the Dayton and Michigan Railroad, a north-south rail line, to Sidney.

Taking advantage of the railway transportation, the historic grain elevator and feed store building was built in 1896 next to the rail line by Emory C. Nutt. The original grain elevator could hold up to 25,000 bushels of grain.

Nutt owned the company for about 10 years, from 1896 to sometime between 1902-1910, when it changed hands to Robert V. Jones and Herbert E. Sheets, and by 1910 it was known as Jones and Sheets Elevator. Jones took over as the granary’s sole owner and renamed the company the Jones Grain Company, around 1913. Jones doubled as the town’s postmaster.

In 1923, it was called the Sidney Grain Company, owned by Evan T. Custenborder and Elmer S. Sheets.

In 1927, Cecil H. Ginn bought into the business and then took it over in 1945. Ginn ran the company until his health failed and his daughter, Vera, who had been a school teacher, stepped in to manage the company. They sold to Kurt Kuck in April 1980, who, in 1985, placed a Western Maryland railcar in the tracks beside the building to emphasize the Ginn Grain’s history of shipping its grain by rail. The railcar was used as a storage building.

Kurt Kuck sold the business to his cousin, Bruce Kuck, of Quincy, in 1991, who has operated the business for the last 30 years.

Over the years, the store changed its focus from serving as a grain elevator which purchased grain and ground animal feed and shipping their product across the region, to a small feed store that served the city’s residents, so in 2018, Kuck moved the 1950s Western Maryland Scenic Railroad freight car, which had become unusable due to a leaky roof, to the Western Maryland Scenic Railroad in Cumberland, Maryland. Today, with a much smaller customer base, serving primarily the Sidney area, the store’s products consist primarily of pet food, pet supplies, vegetable and flower seeds, and bulk candy. Lawn and yard care items include lawn chemicals, rock salt, and rubber boots.

Historic photos of the Ginn Grain Company building and the multi-level Sidney Grain Company Elevator.
https://www.sidneydailynews.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/47/2021/11/web1_Ginn-Grain-Company-1.jpgHistoric photos of the Ginn Grain Company building and the multi-level Sidney Grain Company Elevator. Photos courtesy of the Shelby County Historical Society.

Historic photos of the Ginn Grain Company building and the multi-level Sidney Grain Company Elevator.
https://www.sidneydailynews.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/47/2021/11/web1_Sidney-Grain-Co.-Elevator-1.jpgHistoric photos of the Ginn Grain Company building and the multi-level Sidney Grain Company Elevator. Photos courtesy of the Shelby County Historical Society.

On Wednesday, Nov. 17, Bruce Kuck, of Quincy, stands in front of the Ginn Grain Co. that he has owned for 30 years. Kuck says the building will be torn down and the land sold.
https://www.sidneydailynews.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/47/2021/11/web1_SDN11-1.jpgOn Wednesday, Nov. 17, Bruce Kuck, of Quincy, stands in front of the Ginn Grain Co. that he has owned for 30 years. Kuck says the building will be torn down and the land sold. Luke Gronneberg | Sidney Daily News

An old corn cutter in the second floor of the Ginn Grain Co..
https://www.sidneydailynews.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/47/2021/11/web1_DSC_6922-1.jpgAn old corn cutter in the second floor of the Ginn Grain Co.. Luke Gronneberg | Sidney Daily News

Empty shelves on the second floor of the Ginn Grain Company.
https://www.sidneydailynews.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/47/2021/11/web1_DSC_6903-1.jpgEmpty shelves on the second floor of the Ginn Grain Company.Luke Gronneberg | Sidney Daily News

Empty candy boxes in the Ginn Grain Company.
https://www.sidneydailynews.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/47/2021/11/web1_DSC_6877-1.jpgEmpty candy boxes in the Ginn Grain Company.Luke Gronneberg | Sidney Daily News

Ginn Grain Co. owner Bruce Kuck, left, of Quincy, talks with Regina Hittepole, of Sidney, on Wednesday, Nov. 17.
https://www.sidneydailynews.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/47/2021/11/web1_DSC_6859-1.jpgGinn Grain Co. owner Bruce Kuck, left, of Quincy, talks with Regina Hittepole, of Sidney, on Wednesday, Nov. 17. Luke Gronneberg | Sidney Daily News
125-year-old building will be demolished

By Shannon Bohle

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