Craig Daily Press

Craig — Compiled and Written by Chuck Mack — Jan. 30, 2008

special to the daily press

This article originally appeared in the Dec. 8, 1915, Steamboat Pilot under the headline: “Milling Company Has Completed Structure at Cost of $10,000, With Modern Machinery and Fixtures.”

After 90 days of construction work, the $10,000 grain elevator of the Craig Milling and Supply Company has become a reality, the Empire says. The big structure stands as a monument of the unbounded faith that the officers of the company have in the future of Craig and Moffat County.

Through the courtesy of E.H. Zimmerman, treasurer of the company, an Empire reporter was shown through every foot of the elevator. A casual glance convinces one that the entire structure is a mass of bins, gates, valves and machinery, and while to a certain extent this is quite true, the elevator is a most complicated affair yet when its workings are explained, one immediately can see why it is a “one-man affair” as was explained by Mr. Zimmerman.

The elevator was constructed by George H. Burchard of Lincoln, Neb., and the work was done by Samuel Tyler, one of the most confident elevator men in the country. With Mr. Tyler was a corps of assistants who have put up hundreds of elevators throughout the country and for that reason Craig’s big elevator has been satisfactorily constructed.

There are 16 bins in the elevator proper and these are 7 1/2 by 9 feet with a height of 52 feet. The 16 bins will hold between 25,000 and 30,000 bushels of grain. The bins are concrete hoppered and are dumped by means of gravity power.

A space of about 15 by 30 feet comprises the operating room, which is on the first floor of the elevator. Here are located spouts from each of the bins; an indicator which is used in the distribution of grain of the various bins is located there as is also a cleaning machine or refiller. A self-dumping platform is located a few feet from the big machine and everything there works perfectly. When the wheat is received, it is swiftly sped to the top of the elevator where, with automatic scales, it is weighed and spouted to what ever bin is empty. The whole affair reminds one of a merry-go-round, for everything is so perfectly arranged there could be no breaking of machinery, no confusing of bins in which to load wheat or danger to life and limb. A 30-horsepower engine whirls merrily away and supplies sufficient power to do all the work required. Not only that, but the shafting has been so arranged that when the mill is moved next spring, it will be placed alongside the elevator and both can be run at the same time. If it is not necessary to run both, one or the other can be operated independently.

The Moffat Road shortly will begin the construction of a spur to run alongside the elevator. Huge spouts have been put in place for railroad car loading. The pulling of a small gate lets the wheat loose and a car can be filled in short order.

The wareroom is 30 by 48 feet. This already has been partly filled with flour. Later on, the custom grinder will be placed in the warehouse and operated in connection with the elevator. At present time the grinding will be done at the company’s mill.

90 days of construction work completed a grain elevator in 1915. Reading these old articles I find where things were built so much faster in the olden days. I don’t know why construction work went so swiftly in days of old. But that’s the way it seemed to work. Back when everything was done almost entirely by hand work, there were no huge cranes to do the heavy lifting, no power tools, no air hammers and almost nothing with the exception of good old hand labor, and honest sweat went into the building of things back then.