products was the main item of business. Every station along the railroad had a saw mill. After the land had
become cleared, agriculture was the next important business for the D.& M. Railway at St. Johns. The first car load
of wheat forwarded from the village by rail was shipped by John Hicks in 1857 to George C. Langdon at Detroit.
John Hicks was a Canadian by birth and of English descent. He located in Dewitt before coming to St. Johns. He
was employed as a clerk and bookkeeper by David Sturgis, who was engaged in a milling and mercantile
business. Later Hicks became a partner. From Dewitt the wheat was drawn by wagons to Detroit, where the grain
was loaded in boats and taken to New York for export. When the D. & M. RR came to St. Johns, Mr. Hicks moved
from Dewitt and became a resident of the new county seat, St. Johns. The Hicks wheat house stood north of the
railroad on the east side of Clinton ave. On June 19, 1868 The Clinton Republican reported:
"Mr. John Hicks has enlarged and is now refitting his wheat house, north of the railroad. New machinery has been
added, while the facilities for unloading and shipping grain are completed. The bins are capable of holding about
4000 bushels of wheat at one time."
can view the location of the
John Hicks elevator which is
north of the D. & M. RR and
on the east side of Clinton
ave. This drawing is from an
1881 panoramic view of St.
Johns.
In July, 1864 The Clinton
Republican gives us this bit
of news:
NEW GRAIN HOUSE-
"We are informed that our
enterprising fellow - townsmen,
A.G. Higam and T. Baker,
Esqs. are about to commence
shop belonging to the D. & M.R.R. Co., near the freight house. The store house will be 40ft. by 60ft. on the ground.
Messrs. H. & B. propose to enter largely into the grain trade during the coming fall and winter."
In July of 1871, The Clinton Independent reported that the principal wheat buyers in St. Johns for that summer were,
John Hicks, Reed bros, and M. Heavenrich & Co. M. Heavenrich & Co. leased a portion of the west end of the D. & M.
freight house and the whole upper floor. I always wondered why the D. & M. freight house had a cupola on the west
end of it and this was the reason why, ventilation. Heavenrich 7 Co. installed an elevator and large bins for storage.
Mr. C. Loranger was the buyer for this company. The prices quoted at this date were: Extra White, $1.15; Regular,
$1.00; Amber, $1.12.
In November, 1874 the firm of Loranger & Vanconsant, who were grain buyers in St. Johns at this date, dissolved
their partnership and Vanconsant than least the D. & M. freight house for grain storage. The Independent reported in
September, 1874 the number of cars shipped with wheat as follows:
C. Loranger....................27
J. Hicks..........................59
M. Heavenrich................66
Wood & Sons................. 6
In all they said there had been 60,000 bushels of wheat shipped from St. Johns with an average price of $1.13. The
Clinton Independent reported in October 1875 that P. L. Vanconsant shipped 12 cars of wheat and it was a common
occurrence to have 25 or 30 teams loaded with wheat standing around the store houses at one time.
In the year 1868, wood products were still being shipped in large amounts on the D. & M. The Clinton Republican
reported:
"Five hundred car loads of staves, fifty car loads of pine, and forty car loads of hard wood lumber, and ten car loads
of hoops were shipped from St. Johns in 1868."
Hicks elevator built in 1910 by John C.
Hicks the son of John Hicks. This facility
was located on the northwest corner of
Clinton ave. and Railroad street. The
main building is 24 by 120 feet high from
the pit in the basement to the top of the
elevator shaft. There are three main
receiving hoppers on the south side,
where teams can unload under a
covered driveway, the first one toward
Clinton ave. being for oats, the second
door is for wheat and the third door for
beans. Just west of the adjoining
elevator are a line of three warehouses.
April 2,1918
At approximately 11:20pm at this date,
the night watchman, Lyman Alward,
discovered a fire at the elevator. When
he made his rounds at about 9:30pm all
seemed as usual about the elevator.
When he discovered the fire he was
standing across the street in the yard of
Carpenter's feed barn when he smelled
smoke and upon investigation he saw a
small flickering flame in the roof of the
elevator. He immediately turned in the
alarm and the fire department was soon
on the scene. There was a strong north
east wind blowing and within an hour
