As the story is told, a man by the name of William J. Moon owned some property on a small farm-to-market road in Elgin back in 1882. The Moons slaughtered beef and pork and sold it house to house from the back of a wagon. This practice lasted until 1886 when the Moons set up a location in town on Central Street. The first Southside Market was born.

Records show that Lee Wilson took over the business in 1927. Wilson was in and out of business until the early 1940's. He sold Southside to Jerry Stach and Van Zimmerhanzel in 1944. The two men joined in various partnerships after purchasing the business, including a long-time partnership with Jerry's brother, Edwin. Eventually, Jerry bought out the other interests and ran the market for almost twenty-five years, selling it to Ernest and Rene Bracewell in 1968.

Since that time, Southside Market has been managed by three generations of the Bracewell family, and it still sells the original Elgin Hot Sausage, which is made today just as it was in 1882.