Gurney's Seed and Nursery Co. is a mail-order seed and garden plant company based in Greendale,

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

. Founded in 1866, Gurney's specializes in vegetable and flower seeds, gardening supplies and nursery stock, including trees, shrubs, perennials, fruit trees and berries, fertilizers and plant foods.

History

Charles W. Gurney (born May 13, 1840) a Lieutenant Colonel during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states ...

, opened his first nursery, Hesperian Nurseries, in 1866 in

Monticello Monticello ( ) was the primary plantation of Founding Father Thomas Jefferson, the third president of the United States, who began designing Monticello after inheriting land from his father at age 26. Located just outside Charlottesville, V ...

Iowa Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to th ...

. The business remained in Monticello until 1882, when the business was moved to Dixon County,

Nebraska Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the sout ...

. After realizing the trade potential in towns near rivers, Gurney moved Hesperian Nurseries to Yankton,

South Dakota South Dakota (; Sioux: , ) is a U.S. state in the North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Lakota and Dakota Sioux Native American tribes, who comprise a large porti ...

, in 1897. C.W. Gurney's seven sons were very involved in the family seed business, and in 1906, C.W. Gurney and his sons, and one nephew, had the nursery incorporated as Gurney's Seed and Nursery Company. The company started listing products on a generic price list for mailing purposes, until 1910, when Gurney's published its first large seed and nursery catalog with a full-color cover. Upon Charles W. Gurney's death in 1913, his sons and nephew continued the seed and nursery business. In 1919, Deloss Butler Gurney, one of the Colonel's sons, became CEO. The company diversified and grew quickly. By 1924, the Gurney seed house was one of the largest in the world, receiving orders from 46 of the 50 states and many foreign countries. In 1925, John Chandler Gurney, Deloss Butler's son, made a name for himself as a radio announcer and programmer for the Yankton radio station WNAX. In 1927, John Chandler "Chan" Gurney convinced his father to buy the radio station, which became known as "WNAX - Voice of the House of Gurney in Yankton." The station was used to promote Gurney products and services, making Gurney's a household name. In the early 1930s, the large Gurney's seed house and storefront became one of Yankton's first shopping centers, housing a retail greenhouse, a barber, a grocery store, a jeweler, a medicine store and a restaurant/hotel. These products and services were all promoted by Chan at WNAX. The company also experiment in the fuel industry in the 1940s and, later, it was active in the home front war effort during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. D.B. Gurney died in 1943, but the business sustained. D.B.'s son, John Chandler Gurney, became involved in

politics Politics (from , ) is the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of resources or status. The branch of social science that stud ...

, and served as a U.S. Senator for the state of

from 1939 to 1951.

Products

Focusing on continuing the legacy and objectives of C.W. Gurney, Gurney's targets home

orchard An orchard is an intentional plantation of trees or shrubs that is maintained for food production. Orchards comprise fruit- or nut-producing trees which are generally grown for commercial production. Orchards are also sometimes a feature of ...

enthusiasts and beginners alike. The

horticulture Horticulture is the branch of agriculture that deals with the art, science, technology, and business of plant cultivation. It includes the cultivation of fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, herbs, sprouts, mushrooms, algae, flowers, seaweeds and no ...

experts at Gurney's regularly seek out

vegetables Vegetables are parts of plants that are consumed by humans or other animals as food. The original meaning is still commonly used and is applied to plants collectively to refer to all edible plant matter, including the flowers, fruits, stems ...

and fruits that combine taste with disease resistance, yield and ease of planting. Some of Gurney's popular exclusive home gardening produce varieties, available only to Gurney's customers, include Gurney's Gotta Have It Sweet corn, Gurney's Burpless Hybrid Cucumber, Gurney's Giant Magic Hybrid Pumpkin, Gurney's Pride Hybrid

Zucchini The zucchini (; plural: zucchini or zucchinis), courgette (; plural: courgettes) or baby marrow (''Cucurbita pepo'') is a summer squash, a vining herbaceous plant whose fruit are harvested when their immature seeds and epicarp (rind) are st ...

and Gurney Girl

Tomato The tomato is the edible berry of the plant ''Solanum lycopersicum'', commonly known as the tomato plant. The species originated in western South America, Mexico, and Central America. The Mexican Nahuatl word gave rise to the Spanish word ...

es. Today, Gurney's continues as one of the leading seed and nursery companies in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

, having provided customers with seeds and nursery products for over 130 years. Many of Gurney's best-sellers are unique hybrid seeds and plants including the OH My seedless muscadine grape.

References

External links

*
Gurney catalog archive (1919–1988)
at the Mertz Library {{DEFAULTSORT:Gurney's Seed And Nursery Company Agriculture companies of the United States Companies based in Indiana Companies established in 1866 Seed companies 1866 establishments in Iowa