Landmark falls away
Grain silos once stood as a mighty symbol of Ontario, now they are nearly demolished
By Larry Meyer
Argus Observer
Thursday, June 5, 2008 10:21 AM PDT
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| A large crane is slowly having its way on the old grain silos next to the railroad in Ontario as a few sections come off the walls. |
ONTARIO — Two local landmarks are coming down.
Slowly, but surely.
Large cranes continue to pound on the old grain silos that for years stood as silent, distinct symbols of Ontario and Malheur County next to the Union Pacific Railroad on Southeast Sixth Street.
Now the once mighty towers look like bombed out hulks.
There was no word from Simplot, which owns the site, on its future plans for the property.
Calls to several people around the community did not produce a date when the silos were built, and records at the Malheur County Assessor’s Office do not give a date for their construction, only that “they are old,” Rich Thurman, lead appraiser said.
The silos were originally built and owned by the Colorado Milling and Elevator Company, which operated the Weiser Flour Mill, and stored wheat at the silos for that mill, according to former Malheur County Judge and Ontario resident Russ Hursh.
Hursh said he later worked for the Colorado Milling and Elevator Company’s Ranch-way Feeds division.
When the mill was closed the silos were converted to process livestock feeds, which were sold through the company’s Ranch-way Feeds, which still operates in Colorado where the company was founded and distributes its products through the Rocky Mountain region.
“They operated it for a lot of years,” Hursh said. The company bought a lot of crops from local farmers, he said, and then turned around and sold feed products to dairies, cattle producers, poultry and other livestock owners.
“They employed 25 to 30 people year-round,” Hursh said.
When Ranch-way Feeds pulled out of the area the Ontario property was sold to Simplot.
Ontario had another connection to Colorado Milling and Elevator Company. According to a published history of Shakey’s Pizza, one of the founders of the company sold his half of the company to Colorado Milling and Elevator. The local Shakey’s outlet was on East Idaho Avenue.
