After the Harvest: Indiana's Historic Grain Elevators and Feed Mills

by John Bower, Lynn Bower, Birch Bayh (Foreword)

Sentinels. Guardians. Cathedrals. These are just some of the words used to describe the towering grain elevators still dotting Indiana's countryside. Join master photographer John Bower as he celebrates, in stunning black-and-white imagery, the majestic dignity of these vanishing agricultural icons along with small-town feed mills and picturesque grist mills. This latest book from Studio Indiana celebrates these magnificent, and vanishing, structures. At one time, nearly every Indiana town had a local grain elevator, or a feed mill. Towering above the landscape often taller than trees, church steeples, main street stores, and even some courthouses these stark, geometric buildings were the castles of the Hoosier heartland. Today, many of the smaller operations have been abandoned and stand forlornly in our midst.

144 pages, Paperback

First published March 15, 2007

Reviews

[Mayda · Rating 5 out of 5]

These photos of grain elevators no longer in use will likely mean more to people who grew up and lived in places where they dominated the landscape. But even those of us who are city born and bred can appreciate the majestic towers of strength and power that these photos portray. Along with the grain elevators are photos of feed mills and grist mills. And if you don’t know the difference between all of these structures, then reading this book will explain it all. John Bower captures not only the outer walls but also the inner workings of these towering buildings, once the heart of farming communities, now reduced to memories.