Eastlake Farmers Co-Operative Elevator Company
a.k.a. Colorad Milling and Elevator Company; Eastlake Grain and Feed
126th Ave and Claude Ct, Thornton, COThe Eastlake Farmers Co-Operative Grain Elevator is locally significant as an embodiment of High Plains industrial agriculture between 1920 and 1960 in rural Adams County. During this period of improving agricultural technologies and transportation advances, the Eastlake Farmers Co-Operative Grain Elevator reflects the shifts from rail to truck transportation and from single-grain to multiple-grain storage. As agricultural markets moved away from a focus solely on wheat grain processing, local producers also shifted their attention to sugar beets cultivation and then to livestock feed production. To accommodate these changes, elevator management altered the make-up of the storage capacity within the complex, increasing the number of individual products that could be offered to its customers. The continuity of operations at the Eastlake Farmers' Co-Operative Grain Elevator between 1920 and 1960 is testimony to this agricultural-industrial complex's integral role in the economy of Eastlake and the surrounding region. This rural elevator served between 12 and 15 large grain producers and many small agricultural operations. It boasted a storage capacity in excess of 14,100 bushels of grain, thereby making a significant contribution to the economic well-being of the Town of Eastlake and rural Adams County.
Local significance of the structure:Listed in National Register of Historic Places in 2010.
The National Register of Historic Places is the official list of the Nation’s historic places worthy of preservation. Authorized by the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, the National Park Service’s National Register of Historic Places is part of a national program to coordinate and support public and private efforts to identify, evaluate, and protect America’s historic and archeological resources.