John F. Kroutil

Class of
1933
John F. Kroutil

John F. Kroutil

"John F. Kroutil…perhaps more than any other man was responsible for laying the foundations for Yukon’s growth from its humble beginnings…”
The Yukon Sun, 1961

Biography

John F. Kroutil was born in Czechoslovakia and came with his parents and brother, Frank, to the United States in 1881 and settled in Nebraska. They later moved to El Reno around 1890 and John and Frank worked on farms around Yukon and Banner. John moved to Ponca City to become a grain buyer and bought the city’s grain elevator for $5,000. After he and his brother succeeded in the business there, they decided sell it in 1905 and return to Yukon to establish a flour mill. They bought a small mill and gradually transformed it into the period’s largest independent flour mill in the southwest. They exported “Yukon’s Best Flour” to every state in America and many countries around the world. John Kroutil became Yukon’s leading business man, serving as president of the flour mill, as well as Yukon National Bank, Yukon Electric Company, and Progress Brewing Company.

Fun fact

In the 1930s, John Kroutil joined U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s speaking tour across the Midwest and advised FDR on farm issues.

Oklahoma connections

Kroutil moved to a farm in El Reno, Oklahoma, in 1890.

Hometown

Yukon

Profession

Entrepreneur

Presenter

Born

1875

Died

1954
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