The Seed House appeared on campus during the summer of 1908. The building was much needed since it would increase the efficiency and amount of work to be done at the experiment station. The structure, located northwest of Francis Hall, was two and a half stories with a basement. The Seed House possessed a total capacity of 8,000 bushels and cost approximately $10,000 to construct. The basement was arranged for a root cellar and was divided into several bins. The first floor consisted of a gangway (large enough to allow a grain truck to pass) extending through the entire building. In the gangway was a five ton wagon scale. Located near the scale, was an elevator making it relatively easy to handle material between the different floors. In addition the first floor contained an office, treating room, and a number of bins with a capacity of two hundred and fifty bushels. The second floor contained two large drying rooms with a capacity ranging between two hundred to four hundred bushels as well as 15 bins holding from ten to thirty bushels each and a cleaning and assorting room equipped with the best cleaning grading machinery. The attic floor was designated as a general assorting room (Spectrum, January 19, 1909, p. 1.).
The Seed House was almost destroyed in 1947 when an explosion occurred in an attached shed. Fargo Fire Chief Fred Wells believed that a hot steam pipe was probably responsible for setting off the fumigating gas which resulting in the subsequent explosion. The explosion traveled through the Seed House and lifted the roof off the attached shed. The damage was greatest in the shed because one full can of the fumigant had been spread there. Most of the small fires which followed the explosion were centralized around the steam pipe (Newspaper unknown, Summer, 1947 - Chemistry Scrapbook (black spiral-bound), U.A. ACC 20).
After
the explosion, the Seed House survived for another twenty years. In late September
1967, it was demolished to make way for Stevens Auditorium.
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University Archives, 701-231-8914 Published by the University Archives, NDSU Last Updated: 8/27/04 |