Pritchett: Three elevators in southeastern Colorado

 

Gary Rich captured this striking view of the elevators at Pritchett, a small town in Colorado’s southeasternmost county, Baca. The elevators are along U.S. 160–called Railroad Street in the town–on the northern edge of the Comanche National Grassland. While we don’t know the builders of these elevators, some Mayer-Osborn characteristics are to be seen, notably, the step-up headhouse design and ground-level drive-through access of the first building.

Tracking down the builders of some Kansas and Colorado elevators

Photos by Gary Rich

We’re trying to track down the builders of elevators that stand in various places throughout Kansas and Colorado.

They could be Mayer-Osborn Company elevators.

Here are photos of elevators in Pritchett, Colo., above; Limon, Colo., center; and Coldwater, Kan., below.

Brandon, Colo., also has an elevator whose builder we haven’t identified. 

In Kansas, we have looked at elevators of unknown provenance in Bridgeport, Carlton, Coldwater, Lucas, and Peabody. Of these elevators, Bridgeport, Carlton, and Peabody are of the straight-up type.

From Salina, Bridgeport is due south while Carlton is to the southeast. Peabody is on U.S 50 northeast of Newton.

It seems likely that the elevators in these towns were built by Johnson-Sampson Construction Company, or companies that derived from it, because these towns are fairly close to Salina, where Johnson-Sampson was located.

There are elevators in a few places that were certainly built by Johnson-Sampson. These in Atlanta, Galatia, and Fowler are of the step-up type.

Although circumstances around the dissolution of Mayer-Osborn in 1955 aren’t precisely known, we think that after William Osborn left the business, Eugene Mayer, his partner, carried on under another name, and the signature Mayer-Osborn design scheme was used by Johnson-Sampson and perhaps others.