Harmony Grain Elevator and Railroad Depot

Like many towns across Minnesota, Harmony owes its existence to a railroad. The first train arrived in 1879, connecting the farming village to larger cities. The rail line became a major contributor to Harmony’s early population growth and economic vitality.

Preston and Harmony Township residents were not happy when they missed out on the first rail line to cross Fillmore County. Prosperity was directly connected to the railroad. Finished in 1870, the Southern Minnesota Railroad’s line traveled from La Crescent along the Root River Valley. It made stops in Rushford, Whalen, Peterson, Lanesboro, Isinours and Spring Valley. The Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul Railroad, commonly known as the Milwaukee Road, eventually purchased the line and it reached South Dakota in 1880.

Preston, the county seat, was determined to gain a railroad. Its citizens engaged others in the area to give support if an opportunity presented itself again. Nine years after the Southern Minnesota Railroad Company completed its track, Preston got its second chance.

Construction of the Caledonia, Mississippi and Western rail traveling west from Reno in Houston County to Preston began in the spring of 1879. Caledonia, Spring Grove, Mabel, Prosper, Canton, and Harmony were stops along the line with Preston as its western terminus. Trains used a railway turntable to turn the locomotives around to return to Reno.

The Caledonia, Mississippi and Western chose land a mile north of Greenfield Prairie, also known as Greenfield, to lay track, and local business owners moved their buildings to be closer to the lifeblood rail. This track placement gave birth to Harmony Village. When a thirty-two-man rail work crew descended on the village to start working on the line in the fall of 1879, they were greeted with an enthusiastic welcome. The first trains arrived by the end of the year. Harmony was now economically connected with the rest of the state, region, and country.

A train station depot was built on a farm on the village’s western side to accommodate arriving and departing train passengers. It wasn’t long before it was decided the building was too far away from the growing downtown. It was moved by horse and wagon and placed along the tracks at the northern edge of Harmony’s now-flourishing downtown. W. E. Taylor became the depot’s first station agent.

Grain companies and elevator builders arrived with the railroad, seeking access to wheat and other crops from Southeast Minnesota’s productive farmland . Farmers in Minnesota’s most southeastern corner finally had the ability to deliver grains and other crops directly to Mississippi River markets and beyond. Elevators were needed to process and store grain and move it into large freight cars for transporting.

Two elevators, the McCormick and the McMichel, were completed in the fall of 1879. In 1884, sparks from a train ignited the McCormick’s hay supply, which was used to feed the horses working the elevator equipment. Water was pumped from two nearby farm wells and a bucket brigade was formed to douse the fire. When it was realized that the elevator was a total loss, efforts quickly refocused on saving the nearby lumberyard.

An overnight rain quenched the elevator fire, but its grain smoldered for days after. Another McCormick was built on the southeast side of the tracks. The McMichel survived and still stands in 2018. The Harmony Area Historical Society, the City of Harmony, local businesses, and historic preservation advocates hope to preserve and restore it as a reminder of Harmony’s rich agricultural history.

In 1895, Joel Wolsted built a new elevator near the tracks. Wolsted would eventually come to own all Harmony elevators. By 1901, the three feet narrow gauge tracks were replaced with standard tracks, allowing for faster travel and more freight traffic. In 1909, the Wolsted Grain Company was formed. In 1915, it became the Harmony Feed and Fuel Company. It was renamed the Harmony Agri Services in 1975 A new grain receiving and storage facility was constructed in 2017. In 1977, despite protests from farmers and businesses owners, Harmony lost its railroad.

In 1997, the old rail bed was reborn as the Harmony-Preston Valley State Trail, connecting bikers and walkers to the Root River State Trail.