About Us

In 1915 W.S. Riddell sold his livery business, twenty horses and equipment at auction.   In 1916 he moved with his wife, Elizabeth, and children, Virginia and William “Bud”, to the present location of Riddell Polled Herefords in Sparland, IL.

W.S. named his farm Wellgreen Stock Farm in memory of the family home in Scotland.  His father had left Scotland for America in 1866 at the age of 22.

In 1916 the newly established Wellgreen Farm was home to Registered Hereford cattle, purebred sheep, purebred hogs and draft horses all for sale.  Aside from the farm W.S. also served a term as Marshall County Sheriff and was on the county board for thirty-four years.  In 1920 James S. Riddell was born. 

As an adult Jim and his brother Bud were in charge of the breeding stock enterprises.  They also showed livestock extensively including draft horses and mules at the local fairs and Herefords at the International Livestock Exhibition in Chicago.  W.S. dealt over 2000 draft horses with sales to Illinois, Iowa, Wisconsin, Michigan, and Maine.  As draft horses were being replaced by tractors the Hereford cattle gradually became the main livestock on the farm.

In 1964 W.S. passed away followed by Bud in 1965.  In 1974 the James Riddell Family switched from the Horned Herefords to the Polled Hereford genetics.  It then became known, as it is today, as Riddell Polled Herefords.  Jim passed away in January of 2008.  The farm is now being operated by Jim’s two sons William Riddell and James R. Riddell and one grandson Jay Riddell.

 

 

“What a man, a community, a nation can do, think, suffer, imagine or achieve depends on what it eats… The races that live on beef have ruled the world; and the better the beef the greater the deeds they have done.”    quote from John James Ingalls in his essay “Bluegrass”