Junius G. Groves

The Potato King of The World

Junius George Groves, born on April 12, 1859, in Green County, Kentucky, was once enslaved—but he would go on to achieve extraordinary success. From a young age, he taught himself to read, write, and understand mathematics. With just 90 cents in his pocket, he moved to Edwardsville, Kansas, in 1879, where he married Matilda E. Stewart the following year. Together, they raised 14 children, 12 of whom survived to adulthood.

Starting as a sharecropper, Groves worked tirelessly to buy his own farmland. By 1905, he owned about 1200 acres and had built a 22-room mansion. His innovative farming methods and tireless work earned him the title “Potato King of the World”. His superior methods led to the production of 721,500 bushels of potatoes in a single year out-producing anyone else in the world at the time. The Union Pacific Railway built a special track (SPUR) to his property to expedite shipping. He also owned a 7,000 tree orchard farming apples, peaches, pears, cherries apricots and a grape vineyard, and was the Inventor of the Potato Sorter.

But Groves’ accomplishments went far beyond farming. He invested in businesses, mines, and banks, and helped found important organizations, including the Negro Business League, the Pleasant Hill Baptist Church, and the Kaw Valley Potato Association. His wealth and influence allowed him to create opportunities for others: during harvest season, as many as 50 laborers—black and white—worked on his farm, and he established a community center and even built the first 18-hole golf course for Black gentlemen in Edwardsville, Kansas, perhaps the first of its kind in the country.

Praised by Booker T. Washington as “our most successful Negro farmer,” Groves left a lasting legacy of innovation, generosity, and leadership. He passed away at the age of 66, remembered not just for his incredible success, but for the opportunities he created and the lives he touched along the way.