Gurney's Seed and Nursery Company
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| Privately Held | |
| Industry | Mail-Order Seed and Nursery |
| Founded | 1866 Monticello, Iowa USA |
| Headquarters | Greendale, Indiana, USA |
| Products | Vegetable seeds, vegetable plants, shrubs, fruit trees, perennials, berries, shade trees, ground covers |
| Website | www.gurneys.com |
Gurney's Seed and Nursery Co. is a mail-order seed and garden plant company based in Greendale, Indiana. 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. Gurney's distributes catalogs throughout the nation, and maintains a considerable web presence.
Charles W. Gurney (born May 13, 1840) a Lieutenant Colonel during the American Civil War, opened his first nursery, Hesperian Nurseries, in 1866 in Monticello, Iowa. The business remained in Monticello until 1882, when the business was moved to Dixon County, Nebraska. After realizing the trade potential in towns near rivers, Gurney moved Hesperian Nurseries to Yankton, South Dakota, 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 48 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.
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