We all know a few businesses that have been there our whole lives. There’s one business with a longevity that’s pretty tough to beat. They’re celebrating a major anniversary.
“I’m standing in front of my family’s business,” Robert Harper said, speaking from Hopkinsville Milling Company. “I’m the fifth generation of my family to work here. In Hopkinsville, we are the oldest locally-owned business.”
The company started at a different location of Hopkinsville in the 1870s. At that time, it was Crescent Mills. They made flour and corn meal. The great uncle of Robert’s grandfather ran it with a business partner. It eventually combined with another company, and in 1908, the Hopkinsville Milling Company was formed.
Robert first started coming there when he was 7-years-old. Grandfather Frank A. Yost was running it then, and he’d pay Robert a quarter to help sort things around his office. He’d also reward him with a cold Coca-Cola.
“Is this the guy with the quarters?” I asked Robert, looking at a portrait on the wall.