In the pursuit of historic Minnesota bricks, sometimes the path leads outside Minnesota. Adolph Casimir Ochs located his brick plant in Springfield, Minnesota. However, some of his popular ACO silos were built hundreds of miles from the Springfield brick plant. I have come across three ACO silos in northeastern North Dakota. From what I have pieced together in my research, Ochs’ Springfield Brick & Tile Company hired silo construction crews to build his famous ACO silos wherever they could. I assume that these crews were busy all summer long, building these silos across the upper Midwest.
How could they transport such a heavy cargo in an era when roads were dirt or gravel? They were probably hauled by the railroads. The Great Northern Railway and the Northern Pacific Railway both serviced eastern North Dakota. The Chicago and Northwestern Railway serviced Springfield, Minnesota. When silo brick from the Ochs plant in Springfield, Minnesota were built, they were hauled by these railroads to the nearest railroad depot. I would assume they were off-loaded at the depot and hauled by wagon to the new silo site.
I am not sure how long it would take to construct one of these ACO silos, but I would bet the construction crew also traveled to the construction site on the same train as the new silo brick. The construction crew probably had two options, stay at a hotel in the nearest town or stay in a barn or tent on-site. Since the object was to make money, I would assume they would choose the cheapest option and stay on the farmer’s land. Maybe they would give a discount to a farmer who would let the construction crew stay in his barn. Maybe the farmer would even charge less to feed the crew, as they could get their work done much faster that way.
The photograph above is a well-known landmark in Grand Forks, North Dakota. This silo sits near the corner of South Washington Street and 32nd Avenue South. Since this area is seeing rapid commercial and residential development, its existence will likely be threatened at some point in the near future. It would be a shame to lose this piece of Grand Forks history. I do not know when this silo was built or who was the original landowner. I would like to know this information, so maybe someday I will make an effort to find out the answer to these questions.
The picture above is a zoom in of the silo and probably the milk house. I have traveled by this silo for a number of years, and it continues to look very good. However, like many of these old structures, it is threatened by the weather, birds, and human encroachment.
If the holes that were built into the sides and top of the silo are not plugged with some material, birds are likely to nest or roost in these structures. Pigeons, especially, like to get into these buildings. As you know, pigeons are very messy birds, and their excrement is very destructive as well.
You can see from the picture, the A. C. O. letters are still very visible at the top of the silo. The white cap is also showing its age. Considering this is probably 80 to 90 years old, it still looks great!
I would venture to guess that advertising and word of mouth brought ACO silos such as these to North Dakota. Maybe a farmer visited some relatives in southern Minnesota and saw how durable these silos were. Then, he came back to North Dakota and ordered one for himself. Or, maybe the North Dakota farmer saw one of their advertisements in the local newspaper or a magazine and decided to buy one. Another possibility is that a neighbor bought one and the farmer saw how nice it looked. Or maybe several neighbors got together and ordered them, and received a group discount.
However they came to be in eastern North Dakota, they are quite rare. I imagine shipping charges and housing the construction crew were probably big expenses. A farmer probably had to be fairly well-to-do to afford one, and then tack on the higher shipping rates, and the costs could get out of reach in a hurry. It is also possible that the Ochs silos achieved such a high reputation that word spread for long distances. Sometimes the additional expense is worth it for a product that lasts a long time.
Other than the Grand Forks ACO silo, there are a couple more ACO silos along North Dakota highway 15, west of Thompson. The two photographs below were taken along this route.
