Old and Golden

An antique grain elevator near Laredo Montana.

Agriculture is Montana’s largest industry and wheat is the state’s number one export. For over a century the railroad has played an important role in getting the state’s wheat and other grains to market. Grain elevators, like the one pictured here, dot the Big Sky Country’s vast landscape. Wood elevators were a common design used from the early 1900s to mid-1980s. Most of these wooden relics are becoming abandoned or torn down, being replaced by more modern designs that are larger and cheaper to build and manage – but just do not have the character of the old and golden ones.

I pay homage to these landmarks of the great American prairie with a sunset photograph of a prominent wooden elevator south of Havre, Montana near the town of Laredo.