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World War 1 era horse power

120 Years

120 Years of moving business forward

Murphy’s rich and trusted history has built the foundation of our warehousing and logistics services and solutions. In 1904, Muphy started as a drayage business in St. Paul, Minnesota. Founder Edward L. Murphy, Sr. had purchased two horses and a wagon from his brother, Jack. Gradually, he converted his operations from horses to trucks, and his business was expanded into the Midwest and the rest of North America. Today, Murphy now operates 15 facilities with a total of 4.2 million square feet and more than 300 employees in Minnesota, Iowa, and Missouri. For 120 years, we have proudly operated under five generations of Murphy family leadership, continuously investing in our infrastructure, people, materials, and customers to drive long-term success.

Murphy Throughout the Years

World War 1 era horse power
1915: Horses and wagons lined up outside the Murphy’s Minneapolis warehouse. The sign indicates the points served by the trucking company around the time of World War 1.
1949: Maroon and cream. Beginning in the 1930s, the Murphy’s diesel tractors carried this combination of maroon and cream. This photo shows a tractor-trailer hauling a piece of heavy equipment. E. L. Murphy Sr., is on the right.
1949: Murphy Motor Freight delivery points listed on the backs of Motor Freight trucks.
1949: Out with the window, in with the machine. E. L. Murphy Trucking had to take out a window to move in a big machine in the 1940s. The truck dates from the 1930s.
1949: Hauling bindery equipment, a 20-ton machine for Brown and Bigelow.
1949: A Murphy Motor Freight truck in front of the state Capitol sports still another color scheme; light green on top, dark green on the bottom, with the white lettering.
1949: Hauling 70-foot-long trusses. Photograph from the Kenneth M. Wright Studio, St. Paul.
1949: The office of Murphy Motor Freight Lines at 480 Broadway in St. Paul’s Lowertown.
1949: A line-up of Murphy Motor Freight trucks at 480 Broadway.
1950: Changing color schemes. The Murphy companies were noted for the changing colors of their trucks, although green often was dominant. These have green tops and lettering.
1950: Moving a kiln. One truck drives ahead, another backs up behind, as a man wearing a safety helmet signals the driver’s turn.
1950: A Murphy Motor Freight truck on the road – light green on top, dark green on the bottom, with white lettering.
1950: E. L. Murphy Sr., left, and Dick Murphy with the double-deck trailer Dick Murphy designed to haul golf carts manufactured by the Toro Company.
1950: An E. L. Murphy tractor trailer hauling a large steam boiler that has all its internal pipes exposed. A Murphy employee directs the driver. During transit, large wodden timbers, called cribbing, help the boiler in place on the trailer’s flatbed.
1950: The dispatch operations’ central control at Murphy Motor Freight Lines. Until the advent of computers, both E. L. Murphy Trucking and Murphy Motor Freight Lines tracked their tractors and trailers using the card system seen on the wall to the left of this photo.
1950: Four generations of Murphys. Left to right: Edward L. (Ed) Murphy Jr., Edward L. Murphy, Sr., Richard T. Murphy, and young Mike Murphy, the fourth Edward L. Murphy, who would succeed his father at Murphy Motor Freight Lines.
1950: Taconite mining at the Erie Mining Company, Hoyt Lakes, Minnesota. For the better part of four years, Dick Murphy managed an E. L. Murphy Tracking Company project there. As a sub-contractor for Bethlehem Steel that was building a taconite plant at Hoyt Lakes, the Murphy company hauled the steel and machinery for constructing a railroad linking Hoyt Lakes and Lake Superior.
1967: The equipment E. L. Murphy Trucking Company used in the 1960s to haul 60-foot-long prestressed concrete beams. The increasing use of such beams in the construction of buildings after World War II kept these Murphy trucks busy.
1967: The equipment E. L. Murphy Trucking Company used in the 1960s to haul 60-foot-long prestressed concrete beams. The increasing use of such beams in the construction of buildings after World War II kept these Murphy trucks busy.
1967: Murphy Terminal
1967: Inside the Murphy Motor Freight Lines terminal in Roseville. At the center of this photo is the Terminal Control station where a supervisor monitored all the work that was being done on the floor below. In the rear of the photo is a motorized forklift that was used to move pallets of materials and goods around the floor and on and off the trailers that were parked next to the warehouse doors visible on the left and right sides of the building.
1967: “Class photo” with Dick Murphy and John Solum shown in the top row. Some of the individuals are still at Murphy while others have retired.
A pressure vessel on a Cozad trailer with nine axles.
1970: A pressure vessel on a Cozad trailer with nine axles.
1970: A side-by-side hauling operation by Murphy Rigging and Erecting in 1970. The man with the pole is holding up the electrical wires so the truck can pass underneath.
Murphy Rigging moving a Nordberg generator in the late 1970s.
1970: Murphy Rigging moving a Nordberg generator in the late 1970s.
Inside the Murphy Motor Freight Terminal in the 1970s.
1970: Inside the Murphy Motor Freight Terminal in the 1970s.
Aerial view of Murphy Warehouse Company with the Minneapolis skyline off to the right.
1970: Aerial view of Murphy Warehouse Company with the Minneapolis skyline off to the right.
1970: Dick Murphy with driver Alvin Hauck and Mary Bourdreau, vice president of communications for E. L. Murphy Trucking, as they prepare the Nation’s Capital Christmas Tree.
Hauling the Nation’s Capitol Christmas Tree out of Minnesota’s Nemadji State Forest in preparation for the tree’s trip to Washington, D.C.
1970: Hauling the Nation’s Capitol Christmas Tree out of Minnesota’s Nemadji State Forest in preparation for the tree’s trip to Washington, D.C.
An engine for a Pan American jet airplane.
1970: An engine for a Pan American jet airplane.
1984: A tilt-a-bed trailer with an O ring on board. Used by E. L. Murphy Trucking Company.
E. L. Murphy Trucking Company loading air freight.
1984: E. L. Murphy Trucking Company loading air freight.
Hauling an old fire wagon pumper on a single-drop trailer.
1984: Hauling an old fire wagon pumper on a single-drop trailer.
A tank on a double-drop trailer, E. L. Murphy Trucking.
1984: A tank on a double-drop trailer, E. L. Murphy Trucking.
Art Cromey’s new Cozad trailer in November.
1984: Art Cromey’s new Cozad trailer in November.
1984: The Nation’s Capitol Christmas Tree leaves the Minnesota State Capitol. Dick Murphy, far left; Mary Boudreau in dark coat; Richard Murphy, second from right.
Rigging and Millwright
1996: Rigging and Millwright
Richard Murphy president and family
1996: Richard Murphy president and family


Fridley Murphy Warehouse sky shot
1996: Fridley Murphy Warehouse sky shot
Rolled paper custom space
1996: Rolled paper custom space
Solar Panels, Minneapolis skyline
2009: Going Green! Murphy has been at the forefront of sustainable warehousing and logistics with LEED and ENERGY Star certified buildings and numerous corporate sustainability initiatives.
Solar Panels, Minneapolis skyline
Storm Drainage system, Minneapolis warehouse
2009: Storm Drainage system, Minneapolis warehouse
Storm Drainage system, Minneapolis warehouse
2009: Storm Drainage system, Minneapolis warehouse
Murphy employees at TCF Bank Stadium
2009: Murphy employees at TCF Bank Stadium
Murphy employees at Target Field
2009: Murphy employees at Target Field
LED lighting, Warehouse
2009: LED lighting, Warehouse
Richard Murphy Native Prairie Grasses
2009: Richard Murphy Native Prairie Grasses

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