???Symbolic of agriculture, Dassel's lifeline, the West End Elevator is commonly known to its users as the Dassel Farmers' Elevator. Since its construction in 1885, the area's farmers have brought their corn, oats, wheat, beans, flax, rye, and barley to be stored. From this crossroads the grain has been shipped by rail on its journey to feed the world.
???The structure is of "crib construction" — interlaced milled lumber stacked horizontally. Thirteen storage bins in the interior hold a combined capacity of 20,000 bushels. The style is typical of many early small elevators that once dotted the landscape along the railroads.
???Yankee settlers and Scandinavian immigrants felled the trees of the Big Woods around Dassel to make the land productive for corn and small grains. The city was platted in 1869 with the arrival of the railroad and was named by James J. Hill for his friend and employee, Bernard Dassel. Today the Dassel region is nationally famous for its seed companies, chicken hatcheries, small industries, and more than 40 recreational lakes.
???The West End Elevator is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
seal of The Minnesota Historical Society, Instituted 1849
Erected by the Residents of Dassel
1985
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