For
many years in the late 1800's the town of Elkhart was one of the largest shipping
points on the C&A (Chicago & Alton) Railroad, due to the large
stock raising farms of John Dean Gillett. Noted for importing Durham cattle from
Scotland and developing the Shorthorn cattle breed, Gillett shipped over 2,000
head of cattle and 1,000 head of hogs to Europe annually. The London Gazette
dubbed him “The Cattle King of the World”. Gillett and his grandson Hiram
Keays won numerous awards at the Chicago livestock show.