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After the Harvest: Indiana's historic grain elevators and feed mills

PHOTOGRAPHY by John Bower, FOREWORD by Birch Bayh

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Read Birch Bayh's Foreword.
Read John Bower's Introduction.
Read John Bower's Afterword.
Look at sample images.

Sentinels. Guardians. Cathedrals. These are just some of the words used to describe the towering grain elevators still dotting Indiana's countryside. Join acclaimed Hoosier photographer John Bower as he captures, in stunning black-and-white imagery, the majestic dignity of these vanishing agricultural icons—along with small-town feed mills and picturesque grist mills. After the Harvest is a celebration of the simple dignity of these utilitarian structures—their soaring wood, concrete, and tile exteriors, as well as their dusty, dark, hidden interior spaces. After the Harvest is a book about Indiana's agricultural heritage.

After the Harvest contains 188 moving photographs from every corner of Indiana. Some of these elevators and feed mills are still very much in business, but many are abandoned and slowly deteriorating. A number of them were being torn down as they were being photographed.

The project description and philosophy

At one time, many Indiana towns had a local grain elevator, or a feed mill. These businesses were more than dealers of grain—they were meeting places, landmarks, the focus and pride of their community. Towering above the landscape—often taller than trees, church steeples, main-street stores, fraternal lodges, and even some courthouses—these stark, geometric structures were the castles of the Hoosier heartland. Today, with the advent of ever larger farms, increasing numbers of the smaller elevators and milling operations have been abandoned. Past their prime, these once essential facilities are now often ignored.

In After the Harvest, I've expressed in my photographs the dignity and vitality I feel when standing in the shadows of these lofty storehouses. Their importance can not be overstated—they helped define our state—and ourselves. So, for this project, I've included portraits of grain elevators and feed mills from all over Indiana. Most were built in the first half of the 20th century.

After the Harvest - $22.00
8.5" x 10" trade paperback, 144 pages, ISBN 978-0-9745186-3-3