Grain Elevator - Sentinel Of The Great Plains

An old, abandoned wood-cribbed grain elevator is the un-official symbol of the northern Great Plains. They’re visible for miles on the wide open plains. Every town seems to have at least one grain elevator. Some towns have “elevator rows” of 3 or 4. Often they are the tallest structure in town.

These are a reminder of the expansion in bulk grain shipments that started around the 1850’s. These wood-cribbed elevators remained in use up through roughly the 1970’s. They’ve been replaced with larger concrete elevator complexes. Many of these old elevators have either fallen down or been torn down for safety reasons. However, there are still quite a few standing all across the plains.

Those elevators that do remain stand quietly like “sentinels of the plains” watching over the “amber waves of grain”. Seeing them takes us back to what we like to think was a simpler time. It may be romanticizing them but that’s not such a bad thing. Is it?

The Photos

During our trip we had plenty “targets of opportunity”. Fortunately, with some pre-trip research we could concentrate on the more photogenic ones. The one problem that we hadn’t planned on was the haze caused by the smoke from distant forest fires. We did have 1 or 2 days with fair skies but unfortunately the rest were hazy. Some days were extremely hazy. As a result, the “big sky country” we were hoping for was hidden during most of our trip. But you’ve got to work with what you got so I did my best.

If you’ve ever wondered how the “For amber waves of grain” part of the America The Beautiful lyrics came about, this type of scene is it. I love how the old, abandoned grain elevators stand silently like sentinels watching over the grain.