HAVRE — A part of Havre's skyline has disappeared. The town's famed grain elevators, long a towering reminder of its agricultural past, have been demolished, leaving only debris and rock.
“Part of the fabric of the community is those elevators,” said Hill County Commissioner Bill Lanier. “As one person mentioned, we’ve lost our skyscrapers.”
Entrepreneur H. Earl Clack developed the elevators in the late 1910s, and they played an important role in Havre's early farming economy. They have stood for more than a century despite fires and several rebuilds.
However, after sitting unused for years, the old structures became a concern, especially given Havre's strong winds.
"With those high winds and those not being useful, BNSF thought it would be best to remove those and then make a parking lot out of it," Lanier explained.
While the demolition marks the end of a visible landmark, Mayer observes that Clack's impact can still be felt throughout Havre.
“Clack was not just grain elevators and gas stations. He also had a hardware and implement store in downtown Havre. That building is still there, and it’s still very viable,” she stated.
Although the elevators are no longer in operation, Havre's history is preserved in the city's museums and historic structures.
For residents and historians, recounting these stories guarantees that the city's heritage endures even as its landscape changes.
