Huntley Farm Store: John Deere

          For over three decades, The familiar green and yellow greeted those who passed through Huntley on Rt. 47. Named the Huntley Farm Store, they were the dealer for John Deere equipment. Prior to its construction, John Deere products were sold at Enos Conley's feed and coal business, but in the 1940s, John Deere wanted a larger facility for their products. When Enos Conley could not accommodate their wishes, they constructed a new facility along the railroad tracks on Rt. 47. In 1945, the facility opened under the ownership of Carl Fogle, Helen Irwin, Paul Dale McClintock, and John McClintock, all of whom had opened the Crystal Lake Farm Store one year prior. At its opening, the Huntley facility had three employees, but by 1960, they had expanded to twelve employees, many of which would drive the countryside selling John Deere equipment. In short time, the red brick building could no longer hold all the operations that needed to be fulfilled. The solution was to expand their holdings in a short amount of time. In fact, by 1960, just a short 15 years after opening, they had constructed and occupied a steel pole barn across Rt. 47, a round roofed, steel structure behind the main brick building, and a structure across the railroad tracks, along with their original brick store.  By the 1970s, though, machinery had become too large to be displayed at the site, and the property was put up for sale. Later businesses to occupy the site included a plumbing business in the early '90s, and in the mid 90's through late 2009, Randy's Cycle, a dealer in Victory motorcycles. In April of 2010, the site was razed due to the expansion of Rt. 47. Currently, nothing occupies the rest of the site.   

 

Circa 1945



Photo taken by Gene and Norma Lindsey, 1976. Courtesy of Huntley Area Public Library

This nondescript section of land marks the former store. 04/16/2013.