Over the course of our 125th Anniversary year, we will take a look back at our history decade by decade since we began in 1885.
The turn of the century…our first, that is! By the late 1800’s M.G. Newell & Company had moved to Elm Street which was right in the middle of the hustle of downtown Greensboro. In the 300 block of South Elm Street, Newell positioned the business across the street and down one block from his former employer Houston’s grocery. There he continued to narrow the focus and sell more farm implements, vehicles and all things to support the growing farming and dairy population in surrounding Greensboro. There were even rumors about something called a motorcycle…
Myron Newell married the former Miss Minnie B. Rankin on Christmas Day in 1897. After almost 20 years in business, M.G. Newell appeared to be getting claustrophobia! Apparently his “health broke down on the account of close confinement.” He needed to get away from the business and get out into the “open air.” So in 1904, he sold the business to Petty-Reid Company, and went on his way. The name remained the same, however, and it was still the desired destination for all those traveling to town to secure their implements, bikes, harnesses and supplies.
In 1885, on the corner of Asheboro Street and Bragg Street, Myron Gilbert Newell opened his first business. He named it South Side Grocery Store. The store sold everything from ‘fresh, smoked and salt meats,” and “dry goods and notions” to “agricultural implements” and “tobacco and cigars.” After working for Houston Brothers Grocery, Newell ventured out to star
t a business on his own stating, “Greensboro was a growing city and that business here and the surrounding community would soon be on a large scale.” For his efforts, he paid himself $50.00 a month.
In 1892, Newell moved his business to Depot Street and changed the focus of the store…and the name. M.G. Newell & Company opened with a stock of machinery and supplies catering to the farming industry and more focused on the “agricultural implements” than the “dry goods and notions.” Items such as vehicles, bikes, harnesses, hand churns, pails and a line of “cow remedies” were for sale. This is the first big decision that Newell made in the ever evolving business of M.G. Newell Corporation.
Summary:
The company was founded by Myron G. Newell, who came to Greensboro from Elmira, New York and opened a store in 1885 selling everything from hand churns to buggies. The company was first incorporated in May, 1908. In 1913 it added farm machinery to its product line. At the suggestion of Newell’s son, Burton M. Newell, Sr., the company began specializing in the dairy business in the early 1920s.
Over the years, the company has expanded into the food, beverage, pharmaceutical, and personal care industries, having evolved from being a full line distributor to a full service engineering and systems integration company.
Currently, M.G. Newell has two locations: Greensboro, NC and Louisville, KY. With the addition of the Louisville division, the original M. G. Newell now functions as the corporate headquarters and houses the Greensboro division.
