Artist: Robert Wadsworth Grafton (1876–1936)
John Dean Gillett
GILLETT, JOHN DEAN (1819–1888), inducted by 1915
John Gillett was one of the most influential fat stockmen of his day, earning the title of the “cattle king of the Corn Belt.” A bas relief carving of his champion steer at the first American Fat Stock Show—John Sherman (named after the founder of Chicago Union Stock Yards)—was featured on the stone gate at the entrance to the stockyards, a historical structure that still exists. Born in Connecticut, John Gillett headed west to Illinois in 1838. Working as a farm hand for his uncle, he saved enough money to buy forty acres; upon his death in 1888, he had amassed 19,000 acres. On his Logan County farm, he raised cattle, horses, and hogs, but became best known for his Shorthorn cattle, supplying the Chicago market with some of its finest stock. His prime Shorthorn bullocks were widely held as ideal beef animals, and he expanded the breed’s popularity throughout North America. Gillett’s farm brought prosperity to the railroad shipping center nearby and led to the incorporation of the town of Elkhart. He is also considered the founder of the American export trade, and in 1871, Gillett made his first of many shipments of live cattle to Great Britain. He was founder and president of the National Bank of Logan County.
Source: Saddle & Sirloin Guidebook 2026, p. 96