A piece of Harmony’s history is in the process of being restored, and you have a chance to be a part of it. On July 3 and 4, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., residents and visitors are invited to the McMichael Grain Elevator located at the intersection of U.S. Highway 44 and Minnesota State Highway 139 in the center of Harmony. Harmony Area Historical Society (HAHS) members will be on hand to answer your questions and give visitors a guided tour of the property.
Jeff and Barb (Wolsted) Soma donated the elevator to the city of Harmony two years ago. According to an article in the Fillmore County Journal, a development agreement between the Historical Society and the City was approved as well as a quick claim deed and declaration of driveway easement to allow work to progress.” Since that time, members of the Historical Society have been working extremely hard to raise money, write grant applications, speak before civic groups, hold meetings, brainstorm, conduct historical research, and clean and repair the building. Unfortunately, meetings were curtailed during the pandemic. HAHS’s first meeting since March 2020 was held in February of this year, with the group resuming work on the property in April.
During a visit to the elevator last June and then a year later, it was amazing to see all the work that was done. Ralph Beastrom, HAHS board member and leader of the restoration project, explained the history and architectural features of the elevator. Beastrom pointed out the writing on the wall. It is easy to see two dates, 1935 and 1950, as well as a handful of signatures. Berstrom pointed out the 2”x 4” or 2”x6” laid on top of each other. Richard Kiehne, vice-president and only farmer on the board explained, “Each section is interlaced, so if one section comes down, they all come down.”
Work completed this year includes the interior of the building was soda blasted. Amish men temporarily sealed the roof to keep the pesky pigeons out until the roof can be redone, bins were cleaned, and hinges on the doors replaced so they will close. The board plans to install a sign in front of the building before the open house.
The Arlin Falck Foundation awarded HAHS $7,200 to soda blast the interior of the building, which was completed in May. When the contractors were soda blasting the walls, they had to be careful to ensure that the writing on the walls was not removed. Kiehne explained that they collect a large plastic bag of “stuff,” which Kiehne took and got rid of at his farm. In addition, two trailers of chaff were removed from the bins.
Beastrom shared pictures illustrating the difference in the wood after it was soda blasted. A picture is indeed worth a thousand words.
Kiehne emphasized that the elevator “held grain and was not a mill.”
To be considered eligible for the National Register of Historic Places, the State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) determines if the property is eligible. The following questions are asked regarding age and integrity, and signification when the state determines if it is eligible for the National Register of Historic Places. Is the property old enough to be considered historic? Does it still look much the way it did in the past? Is the property associated with events, activities, or developments that were important in the past? With the lives of people who were important in the past? With significant architectural history, landscape history, or engineering achievements? Does it have the potential to yield information through archeological investigation about our past?
According to the document prepared by Robert C. Vogel, Pathfinder CRM for SHPO, “The subject property is a wood-framed, metal-clad country grain elevator that was constructed in 1879-80 for the A. & T. McMichael Grain Company, which operated it as a line elevator until 1914. It has a designed storage capacity of 10,000 bushels. The names of the architect and contractor are not known. Based on the results of the intensive survey, the McMichael Elevator appears to be locally significant and qualifies for listing in the National Register under both Criteria A and C. The building is in a good state of preservation and possesses historic integrity of the physical features necessary to convey its historic significance. Although it has been altered somewhat from its historic appearance, all its most important character-defining features (including the work house, head house, drive-shed, and crib-framed interior grain binds) have been retained intact. Therefore, pathfinder CRM recommends that the State Historic Preservation Office issued a finding of National Register eligibility.”
The hard work of the HAHS has paid off. SHPO approved the application making the McMichael Grain Elevator eligible for the National Register of Historic Places. The application was paid for in part with a $3,000 SHPO grant.
The next step, according to Beastrom “The application for the National Register of Historic Places will go in within the coming year. It will be paid for with a $5,000 grant from SHPO.”
The board started a fundraising campaign to repair the foundation, replace the roof and windows, and redo the siding on the exterior of the building. The estimated cost is $200,000. The Society will be accepting donations during the July 3 and 4 open house. Contact Beastrom at beastrom@harmonytel.net, Kiehne at rakiehne@harmonytel.net, or Vicky Tribon at vtribon@harmonytel.net if you would like to make a donation or assist in some other manner with the preservation of the McMichael Grain Elevator.
The committee is asking for your assistance. If you have a story or photos of the elevator, specifically the era from the late 1800s to the early 1920s, you would like to share. Please contact the Harmony Historical Society at PO Box 291, Harmony, Minn. 55939 or hahs@harmonytel.net.
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