Grainnet

Date Posted: January 25, 2006

Written by Barb Selyem. Photos by Bruce Selyem

From the roof of a grain elevator you can see from horizon to horizon.

They have been called prairie skyscrapers, cathedrals, giants, and kings. But no name more aptly describes the round concrete elevator at Alpha, MN than “Prairie Castle.”

Built in 1919 by the Farmers Co-op Society of Alpha, its castellated top is reminiscent of the castles of Europe.

Neither Ron nor Rick Fransen, the brothers who have owned the elevator since 1989, know the purpose of its unique design. They speculate that the slopped roof and notched perimeter walls keep rainwater from collecting. Could the architecture represent a more noble ideology?

In medieval times, watchmen kept vigil from castellated towers and men defended their domain from behind the battlements. What better architecture could the farmers have selected for a structure that would tower over their homes and protect their harvest?

Building the Castle

Gauger–Korsmo Construction Co., St. Paul, MN was the engineering firm that had proposed the concept more than 85 years ago.

Workers dug the hole for the lower floors of the elevator 18-feet deep with mules, horses, and hand scrapers. They hauled sand and gravel from a gravel pit south of Jackson, MN by horse-drawn wagons; shoveled it by hand onto railcars; transported it about seven miles to Alpha; and then shoveled it from the cars again by hand.

They made concrete using a large, gasoline-powered cement mixer and poured the 6-to-8-inch thick walls that had been framed with wood.

Today, with a casual glance, the walls, ceiling, and floor look like wood, as the grain of the wooden forms is embedded in the surface.

Originally, the 50,000-bushel elevator had eight bins. Later, seven were opened up to make one large bin. The Fransens now use the eighth for storing wet corn.

There are two bucket elevators in the center of the structure, a manual manlift (still usable), and a ladder to the headhouse.

At first there was only one entrance. Horses entered the elevator, stopped while the grain was dumped, then followed the circumference of the building and exited from the same door.

Later, a second door was cut in the concrete walls so horses, tractors, and trucks could exit straight ahead. Today, the doorways are large enough to accommodate semi-trucks.

Changing Hands

In 1934, the Farmers Co-op went broke, and George C. Musser and his wife, Lucinda, acquired the elevator. They sold out to Cargill in 1942.

In those days, it was not unusual for large grain companies to finance country elevators. The Musser’s had borrowed $6,000 from Cargill in 1938. When Cargill took over, it paid only $1 for the elevator while assuming all the liabilities. It was a Cargill elevator for nearly 50 years.

“The building is indestructible,” says Chet Bartz, who was Cargill’s manager in Alpha from 1958 to 1978. “I never understood why Cargill sold the old elevator. Of course, it can no longer keep up with a commercial operation, but it’s perfect for Ron and Rick’s use. It is great to see what those boys are doing.”

The Fransens farm near Alpha and have hauled their grain to Cargill for years. They had become good friends with the manager, Jim Reiff. When Cargill decided to sell the round house, Jim approached the brothers and suggested the elevator would make a good fit for their operation.

“There was nothing ‘romantic’ about our decision to buy,” Rick says. “Our farm is within five miles of Alpha, and we needed the storage.”

Rick continues, “The structure was sound, but the elevator was pretty worn down, when we got it. Every year, we make improvements, and gradually, it has grown on us, sort of like restoring an old car. We’re pretty proud of what we have accomplished.”

Fixer Upper

In 2000, the Fransens decided to paint. At first, they talked to the Coors Beer distributor who came to look at the possibility of painting it like the ‘Silver Bullet’ beer can. But the elevator was too far from the main highway for Coors’ advertising purposes. The Fransens hired a contractor.

The workers began sandblasting in late July, then applied two coats of paint, the first being swimming pool paint. The entire process took about five to six weeks, because they could only work when the wind wasn’t a problem.

In 2005, the Fransens installed a new dryer and auger to take the grain from the dryer back into the elevator. Rick is already thinking about improvements for 2006.

“We store corn or beans in the elevator year round and have been putting about 150,000 bushels through it annually,” he says.

“This year, we didn’t have enough storage so we had to hire a trucker to haul about 60,000 bushels from our dryer across the street to Cargill. We need to add another storage bin on the south side of the concrete house.”

Writer’s Note: There is another concrete “Prairie Castle” in Niantic, IL and Greenfield, IL. The Greenfield elevator was built in 1920 and is no longer in use.

Barbara and Bruce Selyem are directors of the Country Grain Elevator Historical Society. For more information, contact the society at 406-388-9282; e-mail: bselyem@country-grain-elevator-historical-society.org.

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