The Griffin Wholesale Company, which purchased the Denison Grocer Company Building in 1930 and the Waples-Platter Building in 1941, also operated the Denison Peanut Company for over 36 years.

The peanut factory was established in 1910 on the south side of West Morgan Street between Austin Avenue and Rusk Avenue, by a Virginia-born pioneer named Mr. Woody. After less than a year in operation, Barnhart Mercantile of St. Louis, Missouri, bought the operation. George O. Morgan was manager of the company during the Barnhart's twenty-four years in operation at the plant. On Labor Day, 1930, one of Denison's worst fires swept the site, heavily damaging the main structure and wiping out some of the other structures. A brick, steel and concrete building was built at 212 W. Morgan Street in 1931; and business resumed without much delay.

Barnhart Mercantile Employees
23 February 1931

In 1935, Griffin Wholesale, already operating the two other companies in Denison, bought the peanut company and added a number of new products, including peanut butter and oil. George Homer became manager during the Griffin operation, and eventually he purchased the firm, which became known as Griffin Leake.

Denison Peanut Company
200 block West Morgan St.
Staff, Pecan Department
February 8, 1938
Source: Collection of Grayson County Frontier Village

A 1939 publication described the factory in this way: "A peanut processing company, in addition to the manufacture of peanut butter, oils, and dairy feed, engages in the processing of pecans, 7,500 pounds of which are handled daily in season. Shelling by mechanical methods is developing an additional industry, with numbers of farmers planting pecan trees in former waste space on their lands." (United States, Federal Writers' Project of the Works Progress Administration in the State of Texas, The Denison Guide. American Guide Series [Denison, TX: Denison Chamber of Commerce, 1939], page 19).

Louise Musmecci Meek and Katherine "Katy" Musmecci Miller, sisters, worked at the peanut factory during the 1930s.

Griffin-Leake began expanding in 1964, building a big new warehouse on the property.

Denison Herald
Sunday morning, August 15, 1971
FORMER DURANT MAYOR BUYS PEANUT COMPANY
by John Clift
George Morrow has purchased the stock in the Denison Peanut Company, a subsidiary of Leake TV, Inc. of Texas from the parent company.
The announcement of the sale was made late Friday by James C. Leake, chairman of the board of the Denison Peanut Co.
Morrow, a former mayor of Durant, has headed the Denison Peanut Co. as president since 1969 when the reorganization was made.
No sale price was give for the 60-year-old firm that was fonded in 1918 by a Virginian, who sold out a year later to the Barnhart Merchantile Co. G.O. Morgan came to Denison in 1911 as manager and remained at the helm until 1935 when Griffin Grocery Co. purchased the firm.

"In the past couple of years we have completed a major expansion program that has seen an increase in our capacity from 4,000 tons of peanuts a year to 30,000 tons." said Leake. "That makes the Denison Peanut Co. the largest plant in the southwest and one of the largest peanut firms in the nation."
Leake said the expansion called for "a lot of money, and supervision. Since the major investment of the parent firm was in the....field. I felt it best to back out and let a man who know the peanut business go with it." Leake explained. "I feel that George Morrow is one of the most knowledgeable peanut men in the nation today."
Leake's television interests include outright ownership of ABC afiliates in Tyler and Little Rock and a third interest in CATV in P---- City.
"The peanut business needs more time than we can give it," said Leake, "and in fairness to Morrow he needs a free hand to operate the business. I am very grateful to all to all of the people who have been so faithful to my family for the past 35 years in the operation of the Denison Peanut Co. and I sincerely they'll retain their loyalty with Morrow."

Morrow said he planned to retain all of the existing personel of the plant at all levels. The firm employes 75 persons during the peak period with an annual payroll approaching a quarter of a million dollars.
From a small start the Denison Peanut Co. grew rapidly. By 1917 it had several...---story brick buildings constructed and was one of the major Denison industries. In 1930 it was hit by one of the city's most disastrous fires. The fire burned for two nights and one day, destroying the frame warehouse and other facilities although firemen saved the brick buildings.

In 1935 the Griffin Grocery Co. of Muskogee formed a separate firm which acquired the Denison Peanut Co. Leake is a member of the Griffin family.
The expansion program two years ago included the construction of a new giant warehouse and a mammoth automated warehouse and drying system.
Morrow is a veteran of the peanut business and was associated with a plant in Durant before coming to Denison. He was active in civic affairs in Durant, where he served on the council and as mayor....Morrow was born in Alabama and reared at Graceville, Florida. He graduated from Auburn University. In 1947 he purchased the Durant Cotton and Oil Co. and operated it until 1966 when he sold out to Gold Kist and came to Denison as plant manager.
Morrow stil maintains his home in Durant, where his wife, Marie, and three children reside. He is chairman of the board of the Durant Bank & Trust Co. He is a former president of the Durant Chamber of Commerce, where he served on the Board of Directors for many years.

At the time, the company moved away from peanut butter and expanded more into the seed peanut business. In 1975, the company had seventy-five employees, and a new office structure was built across the street, on the southwest corner of Morgan Street and Rusk Avenue.

In 1979, the Wilco Company took over the peanut plant. Charles Workem was president of the company, which continued operations for another decade before closing the historic plant.

1984 Denison Peanut Factory