1 jan 1905 ano - Junius Groves Potato Business

Descrição:

In 1879, Junius Groves moved to Kansas City, Kansas.

In 1905 Junius Groves, one of the first African-American millionaires grew white and sweet potatoes on 1,000 acres of land that he owned in Edwardsville, Kansas. The Union Pacific Railroad also built a spur for his massive potato business that delivered to all parts of the U.S., Canada, and Mexico (Hancks, p. 78). By 1915 his value was $300,000 which in 2020 would be over 6 million dollars. At its peak Groves Potato Company employed over 500 people both Black and White. He co-founded the Kaw Valley Potato Association, the Sunflower State Agricultural Association, and the State Negro Business League. Booker T. Washington wrote about Groves in his book entitled The Negro in Business (1907). He built three mansions which were all burned to the ground in apparent retaliation for his success. The President of the interurban electric railway that ran between Kansas City, Kansas and Bonner Springs from 1914 to 1963 tried to buy one of the mansions because he didn’t believe a black man should live in a mansion (Ibid). Portions of Kansas Highway 32 are built where this line used to operate.