Monument Erected by: United Duroc Swine Association.
Date Monument Erected: Best as can be determined a few years after 1909.
County of Monument: Brown County.
Location of Monument: US-24, roadside park, 3 miles E. of Mt. Sterling.
Story of Tip Top Notcher as provided by Dan Brooks and Missouri State University:
George W. Seckman became famous (at least among hog farmers) at the 1904 Louisiana Purchase Exposition where he showed the champion boar, "Tip Top Notcher." The noteworthy feature of the champion boar was that he weighed 1,120 pounds. He had been raised on Seckman's farm in near Ripley, Cooperstown Township, Brown County, Illinois. Seckman bought the hog via mail order from Cedarville, Ohio in the spring of 1903. The sire and grandsire of Tip Top had been champions themselves. But at one year and 660 lbs., Tip Top Notcher was considered a freak when entered into the State Fair in Springfield, Ill., in 1903. However, he placed first in his class and also at Kansas City's American Royal the same year.
At the World's Fair, exhibitors were allowed to enter a maximum of two animals per class. Seckman entered eight hogs. Most of his animals did well, but it was Tip Top Notcher that earned him the most notoriety. Tip Top Notcher was not considered a freak in St. Louis as he had been the year before. In fact, some later claimed that it was Tip Top Notcher that set the style for large-type hogs that became popular starting in 1904.
Not only was Tip Top Notcher named Champion Duroc Boar at the World's Fair, he also sired some of the other winning hogs shown by Seckman. This included Helen Blazes III who became the first Duroc sow to sell for $1,000.
Tip Top Notcher became so well known that farmers from all over were bringing their sows to Illinois to be bred to the famous boar. Mr. Seckman even had a special spring wagon built so that Tip Top Notcher could be comfortably transported. However, in 1906, Seckman received an offer he couldn't refuse and sold the hog for $5,000. Tip Top Notcher continued to sire many grand champions. No one knows how many offspring he sired, but the number must have been in the thousands.
By 1909, Tip Top Notcher became crippled, George, who was sentimentally attached to the big boar, bought him back for only $200. The big boar died a few months later and was buried on the Seckman farm.
A few years later, the United Duroc Swine Association recognized the impact that Tip Top Notcher had had on the breed. They constructed a memorial on a two-acre plot about 2 miles east of Mt. Sterling, IL on Route 24. It was deeded to the State of Illinois which in turn became a small picnic area. The limestone marker is 3-4 feet tall. The inscription reads: "Tip Top Notcher - Grand Champion - St. Louis - 1904.
In 1922 George Seckman moved to Oklahoma where he had dreams of making a fortune in oil. He was engaged in the real estate and insurance business until his health failed and he retired about four years prior to his death. He was buried in the Mt. Sterling, Illinois city cemetery, only a couple of miles from his big boar.
Missouri State University web site for 1904 St. Louis Worlds Fair results: 1904 World's Fair
Photo's of Tip Top Notcher, and the article printed above: Tip Top's Mug Shots