Owensboro Grain undecided on future of old DCMS site
Jun. 4—Daviess County Middle School, 1415 E. Fourth St., closed last month.
In August, students are scheduled to move to the new $27.85-million middle school being built in Gateway Commons.
Four years ago, the Daviess County Board of Education approved the sale of the old school property to Owensboro Grain for $1.5 million.
Helen Cornell, Owensboro Grain's president and CEO, said Friday that the sale hasn't closed yet.
She said the company is buying the 11.9-acre site because of its prime riverfront location.
Cornell said, "We bought it for a future growth initiative."
She said she isn't sure when a decision will be made about the property.
Owensboro Grain, a company that dates back to 1906, already owns more than 15 acres of riverfront in eastern Owensboro, a little downriver from the old school.
The Daviess County Property Valuation Administrator's website shows that only six acres owned by Missouri Portland Cement Co. is between the former school site and Owensboro Grain's property.
The website says the property would be assessed at $3.99 million if it were not a school.
But only $892,500 of that is for the land.
The other $3.106 is for the building.
The property has a long history.
In 1927, Daviess County High School moved to the former home of whiskey baron Richard Monarch, which sat on the property, and added rooms.
When the current high school was built at 4255 New Hartford Road in 1958-59, the old building became Daviess County Middle School.
It has seen several additions since then.
In 2018, when the sale was approved, Lelan Hancock, then DCPS senior director of operations, said, "This is honestly a win-win for the community. The school system is getting an excellent value for the property, and one of Owensboro's great business partners is gaining property downtown for development to suit their business."
According to its website, Owensboro Grain's roots go back to 1906, when Henry E. O'Bryan rode his bicycle around the county, buying corn for local distilleries.
Soon, he was shipping corn on wooden barges.
Today, it's soybeans, not corn, that the company thrives on.
The company's website says, "The fourth generation of the O'Bryan family opened a biodiesel production facility, which has added 45 million gallons of fuel per year to the nation's energy supply. This same generation constructed a refined glycerin production facility, which produces USP glycerin, and began producing all-natural, 100% soy waxes for multiple wax applications."
It's now in its fifth generation of family ownership.
Keith Lawrence, 270-691-7301, klawrence@messenger-inquirer.com
