ULYSSES HISTORY

During World War I, the Sullivan’s planted 30 acres of grass pasture to wheat. That 30 acres produced 1,000 bushels of wheat, sold for $1.25 a bushel, and seemed much easier than handling cattle. Realizing that the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railroad coming to Ulysses would split the rangeland with wheat growing “nesters”, they had many conversations on whether to stay in Grant County or begin a new cattle business in southwestern United States away from the wheat farmers. With the help of a grain elevator operator from Moscow, KS, Mary R. Sullivan and her two sons, Dan and Jerry, decided to build the first wooden elevator in Ulysses in 1923.

After Mrs. Sullivan’s death in 1929, there were two good crop years. Jerry and Dan could see that a storage elevator would be a good investment. In 1931, they built the first concrete grain elevator at Ulysses with a storage capacity of 200,000 bushels.

A concrete addition of 400,000 bushels added in 1946. Additional concrete storage was built in 1954 and 1958. Flat storage was added in 1958 and 1960.

On June 1, 2006, the Ulysses Elevator became a part of the Garden City Co-op, Inc. when the Co-op purchased Sullivan, Inc. Today, the Ulysses Elevator has a storage capacity of 3,004,000 bushels.