Wow. I remember that barn as a kid. It was always my favorite because of its size, I was very sad to see it taken down. Blaine is a money hungry city and is very quickly running out of space. I live in ham lake and I’m starting to see ham lake do the same thing. I find it funny he was a housing developer because starting this year they are gonna start tearing up one of the last and biggest sod fields we have left in ham lake for a housing development called “Elwell Farms”. After how many years his legacy will still live on. Elwell owned the land that I live on now too!
Thanks for sharing, I too have seen the ACO silos around the area. I was particularly interest in the wood silo in the last few minutes of the video. I know where there is a survivor of that kind brand of silo, however it is leaning but has been that way for many years. I enjoy you videos.
Thank you for the video. I grew up in Blaine during the 50's and 60s attending Blaine Elementary School. The last day of the school year all of use student would walk to the Clover Leif Dairy for a school picnic. The dairy provides us kids with glass bottles of milk. I remember the ACO barn well but did not know it's history.
Great stuff! I live just North of Ham Lake (East Bethel) and drive down Lexington very regularly and it's awesome to learn about all of this (I love history). Too bad that barn was taken down, I wish they could have preserved it. I know there is a round barn near Anoka off of Round Lake and Bunker Lake Blvd that they preserved when they put in Apartments, wish they could have done that with that old barn.
Nice video. I've been a subscriber to yor channel for a while. This vid was personally interesting because I used to live in St. Anthony (now only a neighborhood in St. Paul) on Como Avenue, just a few blocks from the old Carnegie library. It was a great neighborhood.
That was a beautiful barn, wife and I used to drive that way all the time, there is a real nice red tile barn with a cement hayloft floor about 4-5 miles west of Isanti, Minnesota. I was told as a kid the barn was pictured in the Successful Farmer magazine as the most modern dairy barn in Minnesota
What a beautiful old barn. It's a shame that it was demolished. Buildings like that should be declared historic landmarks and be preserved. I'm from North Dakota but spend some time at my sister's southwest of the cities every summer. I love riding my Harley around down there. There are still a lot of beautiful old barns around down there. Although I have never seen any as big as this one. It must have been something to see back in the days when it was used.
That was one heck of a barn they had off of Lexington avenue. I always wanted to make a video tour of it before it got torn down but never managed to get permission. It’s too bad it got torn down to just build a tiny version of it in the new development.
I tracked down the barn on google earth, and using the measurement tool, I got some rough dimensions: the area under the yellow dome roof was about 145 feet long by 40 feet wide, extending to 170 feet if you count the lower part that connected to the silos. It’s a real shame it got torn down.
There is a barn very similar to this barn, built out of the same blocks in Jacksonville, IL at Prairie Land Heritage Museum, which is the old State Hospital grounds.
From your 2011 photos, it appears the two partnered silos are made from two different size tile blocks. One has the more traditional dimensions and the other looks more akin to brick size. Is this an optical illusion or are they two different sizes and if so, why do you think it was done this way? A rebuilt silo perhaps?
Good eye, they were different! Maybe one was damaged in the storm and had to be rebuilt. They both had iron structural support straps on the outside, which also wasn't done when they were built (they were inside the block).
'demolished to make room for new housing' ... What is the value of memories except to those who have experienced them? Through my grandfather's eyes I saw the transition from horses to tractors. Through my eyes I saw the demise of the 30 cow family farm. To this day, my experience milking and caring for cows in that barn is so poignant, I can see and smell all, as if it were yesterday. And believe me, those memories are good and precious. Sigh.
Did you see that barn in the picture? To me that is what a barn should be. Yes I know it it a dairy barn and most all of them are now long gone though a few are still standing in disrepair mostly. I live within 20 miles of maybe 10 to 20 newer Dairies all are pole barns now. All have cows under cover 5000 of them. All built within the last 20 or so years. all milked on a big wheel holding 30 or 40 cows at a time auto milkers with digital readouts of their production. That seems to be about the limit of time before these conglomerates move to another location with better tax breaks. That and the fact that their waiste has rendered the land and water contaminated. All built essentially alike by commercial builders.
![BLACK BAG - Official Trailer [HD] - Only in Theaters March 14](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/Du0Xp8WX_7I/mqdefault.jpg)
What a great family success story and a beautiful barn. Such a shame that it is gone! Thanks for sharing!
Wow. I remember that barn as a kid. It was always my favorite because of its size, I was very sad to see it taken down. Blaine is a money hungry city and is very quickly running out of space. I live in ham lake and I’m starting to see ham lake do the same thing. I find it funny he was a housing developer because starting this year they are gonna start tearing up one of the last and biggest sod fields we have left in ham lake for a housing development called “Elwell Farms”. After how many years his legacy will still live on. Elwell owned the land that I live on now too!
I saw an ACO silo a few days back, and immediately thought of this channel. You’ve taught me so much!
Great presentation!
Very nice. Glad you got some pictures of the barn.
Thanks for sharing, I too have seen the ACO silos around the area. I was particularly interest in the wood silo in the last few minutes of the video. I know where there is a survivor of that kind brand of silo, however it is leaning but has been that way for many years. I enjoy you videos.
Wow, another great piece of MN history brought forward. Well done and thanks for sharing... 😁👍👍👍👍👍
Thank you for the video. I grew up in Blaine during the 50's and 60s attending Blaine Elementary School. The last day of the school year all of use student would walk to the Clover Leif Dairy for a school picnic. The dairy provides us kids with glass bottles of milk. I remember the ACO barn well but did not know it's history.
Great stuff! I live just North of Ham Lake (East Bethel) and drive down Lexington very regularly and it's awesome to learn about all of this (I love history). Too bad that barn was taken down, I wish they could have preserved it. I know there is a round barn near Anoka off of Round Lake and Bunker Lake Blvd that they preserved when they put in Apartments, wish they could have done that with that old barn.
Nice video. I've been a subscriber to yor channel for a while. This vid was personally interesting because I used to live in St. Anthony (now only a neighborhood in St. Paul) on Como Avenue, just a few blocks from the old Carnegie library. It was a great neighborhood.
That was a beautiful barn, wife and I used to drive that way all the time, there is a real nice red tile barn with a cement hayloft floor about 4-5 miles west of Isanti, Minnesota. I was told as a kid the barn was pictured in the Successful Farmer magazine as the most modern dairy barn in Minnesota
Very enjoyable video.
That made my evening thanks!
I commented before the end. They tore it down. Another one gone sad.
What a beautiful old barn. It's a shame that it was demolished. Buildings like that should be declared historic landmarks and be preserved. I'm from North Dakota but spend some time at my sister's southwest of the cities every summer. I love riding my Harley around down there. There are still a lot of beautiful old barns around down there. Although I have never seen any as big as this one. It must have been something to see back in the days when it was used.
Bummer, such a beautiful barn.
I live in Ham Lake, and remember it well.... thank you
I remember that barn! I was sad to see it go. Too bad no one turned it into a garden/ landscape type store.
Looks like the barn at the corner of Lexington and 242/14 we used to drive by on the way to visit my grandparents.
I wish there had been some photos of the inside saved for us to see.
I've learned more Minnesota history than I have in a long time and I was born and raised here. Sad to see it demolished
Was a landmark in our area for many years.
I grew up in Circle Pines just down the road from that barn. I would ride my big past it often.
That was one heck of a barn they had off of Lexington avenue. I always wanted to make a video tour of it before it got torn down but never managed to get permission. It’s too bad it got torn down to just build a tiny version of it in the new development.
Was the Elwell farms and creamery later on in life cloverleaf farms and now called kemps? In Minneapolis
I tracked down the barn on google earth, and using the measurement tool, I got some rough dimensions: the area under the yellow dome roof was about 145 feet long by 40 feet wide, extending to 170 feet if you count the lower part that connected to the silos. It’s a real shame it got torn down.
good job
One would think with owning so much of the township that Blaine Township should’ve been renamed Elwell Minnesota.
There is a barn very similar to this barn, built out of the same blocks in Jacksonville, IL at Prairie Land Heritage Museum, which is the old State Hospital grounds.
There is one of these silos on the west side of St. Joseph, MN on the north side of County Road 75
From your 2011 photos, it appears the two partnered silos are made from two different size tile blocks. One has the more traditional dimensions and the other looks more akin to brick size. Is this an optical illusion or are they two different sizes and if so, why do you think it was done this way? A rebuilt silo perhaps?
Good eye, they were different! Maybe one was damaged in the storm and had to be rebuilt. They both had iron structural support straps on the outside, which also wasn't done when they were built (they were inside the block).
the ochs family should appreciate this
'demolished to make room for new housing' ... What is the value of memories except to those who have experienced them? Through my grandfather's eyes I saw the transition from horses to tractors. Through my eyes I saw the demise of the 30 cow family farm. To this day, my experience milking and caring for cows in that barn is so poignant, I can see and smell all, as if it were yesterday. And believe me, those memories are good and precious. Sigh.
Very nice presentation! It is a shame the barn was destroyed for a housing development! 😢😡
Especially for a house that's not even built to last half as long that doesn't make any sense man I'm so glad that my state has banned those
It’s called capitalism. Welcome to America.
Did you see that barn in the picture? To me that is what a barn should be. Yes I know it it a dairy barn and most all of them are now long gone though a few are still standing in disrepair mostly.
I live within 20 miles of maybe 10 to 20 newer Dairies all are pole barns now. All have cows under cover 5000 of them. All built within the last 20 or so years. all milked on a big wheel holding 30 or 40 cows at a time auto milkers with digital readouts of their production.
That seems to be about the limit of time before these conglomerates move to another location with better tax breaks. That and the fact that their waiste has rendered the land and water contaminated. All built essentially alike by commercial builders.
what ever happen to the family business[and families] , being so big of a operation , dairy and all that land that the family owned??
Did not know they made work benches .
18:10 Uffda.
They keep expanding the suburbs with no plan for maintaining the miles of new infrastructure. It's completely unsustainable.
Where does one find old arial photos like you show?
historic aerials or vintage aerials are 2 of my favorite.