Old Landmark The Clement Silo

 

Clement Silo. Always one of my favorite drives through the country side is on Reiter View Road out behind Crayne to check on the old Clement Silo that was built back in the early 1900's. Always a fascinating sight to see, knowing how old the concrete structure is and the difficulty it must have been building it all those years ago. 

 

An impressive structure that has marked this area for as long as anyone can remember is the concrete silo that sits at the corner of Mexico and Amos Roads. It has always been a landmark of this area. Mr. Norman Wheeler who was born and raised in this area remembers that many years ago a large barn set close by the silo, and across the road facing the entrance to the Reiter View road set the old 2-story home of Major Jeff Clement. 

 

Mr. Wheeler told me that Jeff Clement owned all the land in that area and he is the one that had the silo built. Mr. Wheeler said that his grandfather, Henry Wheeler, help build this silo and that it was built in small sections at a time. The frame would be set, filled with the concrete, and let dry, the frame reset on top of the cured section and continued on until it was complete. They used some kind of a scaffold to be able to get it as tall as it is. The silo is most certain to have been built over 100 years ago. 

 

The silo has always fascinated me ever since I was a child and we would go driving by and I would see it, now that I have many, many years behind me, I am still fascinated by the sight of it, it's strong foundation and the height of it is truly amazing. It is an impressive sight from the road, but if you stand by the side of it and actually see the width and height of it, and to think that it was constructed without any of the modern equipment that we have today, it is even more impressive.

 

Think of the history that this silo has seen pass by on the road where it stands. The wagons of spar pulled by mules, going to the depot at Crayneville or to Mexico, and that cold night in February 1908 as the band of Nightriders in the dead of night with their torches burning, made their way to the A. H. Cardin farm a few miles down the road, and burned Mr. Cardin's tobacco factory, all this and much more that we don't know, has passed by this historic structure.

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You can always find something beautiful and interesting to see and wonder about as you drive our many county roads.