This grain elevator company was founded in 1855 by Solomon Sturges and his brothers-in-law C. P. Buckingham and Alvah Buckingham. By 1857, they owned 120-foot elevators at the Illinois Central Railroad depot. During the Civil War, their two elevators had a capacity of 700,000 bushels each, which made Sturges, Buckingham & Co. the city's leading grain warehousing firm. In 1865, John Buckingham and Ebenezer Buckingham took over management of the elevators. By 1873, the Buckinghams' elevators had a capacity of nearly 2.9 million bushels of grain. The partnership ended with death of John Buckingham in 1881.

This entry is part of the Encyclopedia's Dictionary of Leading Chicago Businesses (1820-2000) that was prepared by Mark R. Wilson, with additional contributions from Stephen R. Porter and Janice L. Reiff.