While researching our old building’s past, we learned a lot about its 100 year+ history. The location of the building was chosen as it would be adjacent to the railroad tracks of the Colorado and Southern Railway line for loading and unloading of goods to and from the train.
When the mill was built, the owners boasted it held over 8,000 bushels of grain! All that grain had to get into the building somehow… and it often rolled up in a big truck. The truck full of grain would park on the scale on the south side of the building so that the weight of the grain could be recorded to calculate payment to the farmer. The augers carried the grain up through the roof of the building and into one of the many grain bins in the top of the mill.
The scale was designated by the State as a historic feature of the building and important to save. We removed the original wood surface and the underground mechanical pieces to fill the hole below, making it safe for the long term. Then the wooden platform went back in its original location. Today, our 1954 Chevy farm truck sits there to remind us of the operations of the mill.
Looking back at the building, you can see the south window, which was added as part of a remodel sometime between 1915 and 1917. Around the time the building was purchased by the Co-operative Mercantile Company, the flat roof on the front room of the building was raised and the small room on the south end of the front room was added, including the window we call the “popsicle window.”
From this window, we sell fruit-filled frozen treats for people and pup pops for dogs. If you look closely, you’ll see that our dear old dog, Jed, took a walk across wet concrete of the new stairs up to the window to permanently mark the path for other dogs to come check out the treats.
We hope you’ll come by and enjoy a cold treat for you and your furry friends.
