For those people who grew up on farms in Minnesota, you no doubt had silos on your farm. Even people in cities can recognize and understand what silos were used for. There were many types and styles of silos. They were even made of different materials, like cement, clay, or wood. As a brick lover, I focus on the clay silos.
When I drive across Minnesota, almost every farmstead I see still has a silo. Some of them have multiple silos. These days, one of the big brands is Harvestore. Harvestore silos are usually a distinctive dark blue color. The modern day Harvestore silos are also labeled with the company’s name in bright while letters at the top. However, if you have a silo on your property that was made in the early 1900s, who actually made it?
To date, I can only accurately identify one brand of silos, which are the ACO silos. ACO stands for Adolph Casimir Ochs, who was a brick maker in Springfield, Minnesota. ACO silos are probably the most common clay block silos still found in Minnesota today. Most of the ACO silos are just as identifiable as the Harvestore silos, because they were labeled “ACO” in big white letters at the top. If you have an ACO silo on your property, it was made from clay block in Springfield.
However, if you do not have an ACO silo, it becomes much harder to identify. In my years of research, I know that a brickyard in Austin made silos and so did a brickyard in Zumbrota. Just today, I found out that there was a silo manufacturer in St. Paul, which was called the “Independent Silo Company.” I actually found one of their silo blocks in a dump. That actually gives a second way to identify your early 1900s silo. If you look closely at the sides of the silo block, it may be stamped by the manufacturer. However, sometimes these stamps were covered up by mortar and may not be visible unless they are torn down.
I have seen many different colors of clay block silos in my treks across Minnesota. ACO silos are usually a burnt orange-red. I have seen silos that are almost a purple color and I have seen some that look more orange. Some of them have painted white plus (+) symbols at the top and some have painted diamonds. There are also silos that have no white painting on the top at all. All said, if anyone knows more information on identifying old Minnesota clay block silos, let me know. In the meantime, I continue to look for the answers…