By Ronald Ahrens
Our friend Kim Cooper sent this photo of an elevator in Minden, Neb. We see no mention of Minden in the records of Tillotson Construction Co., of Omaha. One dependable characteristic is that Tillotson built a with center driveway. This elevator has a side driveway.
Although we don’t know how many elevators were constructed by Mayer-Osborn Co., of Denver, or where they were built, an educated guess says this isn’t one of their jobs either. Mayer-Osborn had developed a stepped-headhouse design with rounded corners. Here, there is a step, but nothing like the proportions we have seen at an Mayer-Osborn elevator–the one in Follett, Texas, for example.
So we called up Minden and spoke to Brent, who runs the location. He confirmed that the freestanding tall structure on the elevator’s left in this photo is an outdoor leg and is used to load trains.
And Brent said the elevator was built by Sampson Construction. “I want to say 1960s for the original house,” he said.
Our Grandfathers' Grain Elevators 
My brother, Todd Johnson, has worked within this structure for nearly 20 years He may be able to shed some light on it as well.
Yes, whatever you can tell us in another comment would be appreciated.
I seem to remember a manhole cover marked Sampson. i can’t speak to a date.