In the early 20th century, William George Eckhardt was a pioneer in DeKalb County's leading role in agricultural innovation. An agronomy professor at the University of Illinois and an expert in the blossoming field of soil science, he was hired on June 1, 1912, by the DeKalb County Soil Improvement Association, predecessor to the DeKalb County Farm Bureau and DeKalb Agricultural Association (DAA), as a soil scientist to establish permanent and profitable agricultural practices, improve farming practices within the county, and oversee farming operations. This decision to hire him as the nation's first farm advisor gave birth to the Farm Bureau system. Eckhardt's family owned this house from 1919 until his widow Eva died in 1980. To the north sat Eckhardt's seed house, founded as the Corn Belt Seed Company in 1925. After years of seeking to solve the problem of seed corn rotting in storage, he patented a technique of forced-air drying by 1920 and in the following years perfected designs of drying bins and storage silos he built on this site. Until he started his own company, he licensed the rights for his patent to DAA to use in its seed business. Both DAA and Eckhardt were innovators in researching and developing high quality corn seed, and their competitive and collaborative efforts fueled rapid advancements in the field of hybridizing corn.