Beardstown, IL: Feed/Flour Mill

(Satellite)

Emily Frank posted
Beardstown IL
Emily Frank This was taken from the levy. I don't remember when it was operational but I myself am not from Beardstown.
Eric Walker From what I remember, at the top you can still see the hole in the building from a dust explosion in 1982 set off by welders in the elevator. The year before in 1981, one bin caught fire and had to be opened with dynamite to extinguish. Has had a rough history. Think they have the info with the Cass County Star Gazette. I remember my parents telling me the stories as I was born around then.
Dennis DeBruler You remember correctly:
https://beardstownnewspapersarchives.etypegoogle6.com/eve...

I saved this image because Google doesn't have a 3D option here, but their current 2D image shows a third dimension.

Satellite

At first I could not find the elevator in the satellite view because I was looking along the river. Then I noticed the railroad tracks in the photo. I soon found the elevator further inland along the tracks. The following street view confirms that the above photo is of the west side.

Street View

The small structure was not the headhouse for the silos. It was West of the silos.

Street View

The comments on the photo keeps talking about a "flower" mill. It started as a flour mill. But at some point it became a feed mill.

Steve
Critic Feeds Schultz,Baujan & Co. Beardstown, Illinois 20x36

cass.ellenoisgenweb
Schultz Baujan & Co.
Beardstown, IL
Sunbeam Mill & Elevator
Erected 1918

I don't think this photo is labeled properly.  Julia, the author of the indicated reference, describes an expansion in 1916 in terms of barrels. That implies it was producing flour. The company had an explosion in 1917. That would be why some photos talk about construction in 1918, just two years after their 1916 expansion. In 1922 the steam-powered equipment was replaced with electric power. By 1929 they had a feed mill operation because that is when they introduced the Critic brand for livestock feed. [SchultzBaujan]

Photo from RootsWeb
Feed Mill in Bardstown being built by Mr. Schultz and Mr. Baujan
Photo provided by Cass County Historical and Genealogical Society

On Sept 2, 1981, a fire broke out in a bin containing 700,000 bushels of feed pellets. Two days later they used 63 sticks of dynamite to blast an opening in the bin to allow firemen to bring the blaze under control. Then on Apr 1, 1982, while three workers were welding in the basement of the livestock feed pellet mixing plant, an "explosion rocked the east side of the city. Fire erupted from the mill's top floor. Glass, concrete and other debris was thrown hundreds of yards from the plant. One of the buildings was scarred by a gaping hole." The three workers were able to walk out, but two of them were severely burned. A helicopter air lifted the two burn victims to Springfield's Memorial Hospital. On April 8, one of them was flown to Washington Hospital Center in Washington, DC to receive skin grafts from their skin bank. Unfortunately, he lost his battle to live on May 27. [EverythingChanged]

I included a lot of context in this aerial so that I could correlate the location with a contemporary satellite image. This aerial shows the BNSF/CB&Q mainline going through the plant. I've concluded that the mainline was moved northeast of the plant and that the industrial spur that now goes to the plant was the old mainline.

1938 Aerial Photo from ILHAP

Looking East from 2nd Street along the old mainline.

Street View

The current owner is Clarkson. Their web page calls this elevator a "transportation facility." They claim a "Clarkson-owned barge station for loading and unloading."

ClarksonGrain

It must be this facility. But I don't see how they would unload barges.

Satellite

They claim "Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway rail siding for shipping and receiving." But I don't think they actually have any rail business because there is no fall protector. And they don't have much of a hopper dump. Clarkson Grain specializes in non-GMO and organic crops. I would not be surprised if that is a low-volume business compared to normal crops.

Street View

(new window)  This is basically a slideshow. But the comments are interesting.