Rural King

Rural King is an American farm and ranch supply retailer founded in 1960, headquartered in Mattoon, Illinois. Under CEO Alex Melvin, Rural King operates 135 stores across 13 states and reached $1 billion in total sales in 2015. The third-generation family-owned company specializes in agricultural equipment, livestock supplies, and rural merchandise, serving farming communities with comprehensive product offerings and customer service.

Rural King Supply was founded on June 5, 1960, by Kermit Speer and Keith Beaird in Mattoon, Illinois. The original store was started in a former implement building of 7,200 square feet. The company started with two employees, besides the owners, and began serving the agricultural community with essential farm and ranch supplies.

Throughout the 1960s, Rural King expanded its physical presence and capabilities. In 1963, an addition to the main building was added. In 1966, a warehouse was built, and in 1970, a second addition was added to the store. The company also expanded to new locations, opening another store in Paris, Illinois, in 1962, and a Vandalia, Illinois, location in 1966 in an old building on U.S. Highway 40 East.

In 1976, a new building was finished and opened in September. In 1979, Gary Melvin, nephew of Kermit Speer, purchased an interest in Rural King, beginning the family's multi-generational leadership. Gary started working in the store, learning the products and serving customers from the ground up.

In 1982, Bruce Speer, nephew of Kermit Speer, purchased an interest in Rural King with the opening of the Litchfield, Illinois store. Bruce began as the manager of the Litchfield store and later moved to Terre Haute, Indiana, where he opened and managed that store for five years. In 1990, Bruce moved to the Mattoon corporate office to help with purchasing and expansion of Rural King stores.

A major milestone came in 1999 when a new store, warehouse, and corporate office consisting of 210,000 square feet was opened across the highway from the old store. The old store and warehouse were donated to Catholic Charities USA. The company continued expanding its facilities with a 94,000-square-foot addition to the warehouse in 2003, another 96,000 square feet in 2007, and a third warehouse expansion started in 2010 that added 104,000 square feet.

In December 2015, Rural King announced they had reached, for the first time, $1 billion in total sales, demonstrating the company's significant growth and market penetration. In 2017, Rural King purchased the Cross County Mall in Mattoon, Illinois, and in July 2018, finalized plans to move the Mattoon Rural King store location into the former Sears space to drive more traffic to the mall and other businesses in the area. The location opened January 16, 2019.

In 2022, Rural King purchased the former JCPenney anchor space at the Country Club Mall in Cumberland, Maryland, with construction starting in early 2025 and a completion date slated for October 2025, making it the company's first store in the state of Maryland. This expansion demonstrates Rural King's continued growth and commitment to serving new markets.