Herbert K. Lindsley. Recognized as one of the leading commercial centers of the West, the City of Wichita has advanced rapidly in recent years along particular lines. Its geographical location and railroad facilities have made it the largest market in the world for broom corn. In the handling of broom corn, an important figure is Herbert K. Lindsley, president of the American Warehouse Company, whose career is typical of modern progress and advancement. It is not necessary to seek far for the reason for his success, or his indefatigable energy, close application and progressive methods have not only laid the foundation for the enterprise which he has built up, but have led him into other lines of endeavor, in which he has attained equal recognition and reward.
Mr. Lindsley was born at Muncie, Indiana, June 21, 1875. When he was three years of age he was taken by his parents to Sterling, Kansas, where he received his education, and after graduating from the high school of that place, clerked for three years and for a few years thereafter was agent for the Pacific Express Company at Sterling. He then engaged in the broom corn business at Sterling, that town being at the time the largest broom corn market in the West. In 1904 he came to Wichita, where he was the first to engage in the broom corn business, and subsequently became the organizer and was elected president of the American Warehouse Company of Wichita, a $300,000 corporation for the handling of broom corn. This is the largest concern of the kind in the world, and has branch offices in various of the large cities, its warehouses at Galveston being the largest in that city. During the years of its existence, the company has grown and developed under Mr. Lindsley’s able direction and its operations have taken on an importance national in its scope.
While Mr. Lindsley has been primarily interested in the broom corn business, he has also entered other fields of business activity, where his abilities and talents have been enlisted in the promotion and development of institutions of more than ordinary importance. In 1900, while a resident of Sterling, he became the organizer of the Lyons National Bank, of Lyons, Kansas, and was made its president, a position which he still retains. In 1902 he organized the Farmers State Bank, of Chase, Kansas, of which he is also the directing head in the capacity of president. During the years 1910 and 1911 he was the prime mover in the organization of the Farmers and Bankers Life Insurance Company, capitalized at $275,000, and in the five years of the company’s existence it has had approximately $15,000,000 worth of business in force. This is an old line legal reserve life insurance company, and from the time of its inception, Mr. Lindsley has directed its affairs from the president’s chair.
On June 16, 1909, Mr. Lindsley was united in marriage with Miss Jessie Piper, of Clinton, Missouri. They were the parents of two children: Robert Kitchel, born September 27, 1911; and Herbert Piper, born December 16, 1913. Mr. Lindsley is a Scottish Rite Mason, past commander of Sterling Commandery, Knights Templar, and a member of the Blue Lodge, Chapter and Shrine, and also holds membership in the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the Knights of Pythias and the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. He has always taken a deep interest in the welfare of Wichita, never hesitating to advocate or oppose any measure or project which pertains to modern advancement and improvement, which in his judgment merits endorsement or opposition, and is widely known as a man of substantial worth, whose judgment is sound and sagacity keen.