Stonega

Hamilton County Settlements - Part 6

Stonega - Stonega could not really be considered a settlement. Primarily, it was a stop on the Illinois Central Railroad, where stock and grain could be loaded on the train. It was located about a mile west of Druid's Siding.

The elevator was organized in 1912 as the Stonega Home Elevator Company which was owned and operated by a few farmers. The scale pit was dug on January 1, 1913 - a very cold time to be digging. The station stop was named, according to the railroad officials, for Mr. Stone, the division superintendent for the Waterloo-Fort Dodge division. Atlases dated 1915 and 1920 give the name as Stone Eagle, but the residents in the area insist that the name was always Stonega. From 1920 to the present, the Stonega name has always been used.

One person, who was involved with the establishment of the elevator, told me that the name was really made up of the initials of the people who formed the cooperative. That man was Pete Nail of Webster City. His family was one of the first members. He suggested that the names of people involved were Lena Eggers, Leonard Thompson, Pete Nail, Clarence Stone, William Oakland, Seth Welch, and Ethel Wier. He said that he believed that the S came from Seth Welch, the T from Thompson, the O from Oakland, the N from Nail, the Eg from Eggers, and the A was just tacked on to make up the word STONEGA. Could be. It still stands today as a complex of elevator buildings.

J. H Martin was hired to manage Stonega. At one time, they sold coal, seed, salt, feed, fencing materials and gasoline to the farmers. In 1935 the company was sold to surrounding farmers, each farmer purchasing shares.

The elevator was renamed the "Stonega Cooperative Elevator Co." On May 1, 1977, Stonega was merged with the Co-ops at Kamrar, Webster City, Highview, and Flugstad creating the United Cooperative.