 Logan
Mill History
The Maple Factory is one of several
historic buildings in the little Norwegian village of Westby.
It is located at the corner of Bekkedal Avenue and Second
Street near the down town shops and restaurants, just 1 block
east of main street and 3 blocks south of the Stabbur Visitor
Center and 1 block north of the Westby Coop Creamery. This
part of the city was the original industrial park because the
railroad tracks ran down what is now Bekkedal Avenue. The
years 1905 - 1939 this building was home to one of the first
co-operatives in the state of Wisconsin, the "Westby
Co-operative Seed Exchange". In 1940 a gentleman named Ben
Logan purchased this property, doubled the size of the
building, added feed grinding equipment, and renamed the
business "Westby Feed and Seed". This was the first feed mill
to serve dairy farmers in rural Westby. Other people have
owned the building since Ben Logan, but to this day the
building is still fondly remembered and spoken of as "Ben
Logan's Feedmill". The old mill has been a maple factory on
first floor and a guesthouse on second floor since May 1999.
Ben Logan's grandchildren say that Ben would be happy that the
building is now a maple factory as they remember that Grandpa
Ben always liked maple candy. It is our wish that you will
enjoy your visit to this historic building.
 1905
was the first year that TWO competeting railroads served
Westby. The Cargill family felt the existing Milwaukee
Railroad (tracks ran on east side of the mill) did not provide
good enough service to communities in Vernon County. The
Cargills started a railroad called "La Crosse and Southeastern"
that connected La Crosse to several Vernon County
communities as of 1905. This train ran on the west side of
the Cargill Grain Elevator which had been newly built in 1905
at the corner of Bekkedal and Second Streets in Westby.
Unfortunately we have not been able to locate a photo of the
La Crosse & Southeastern train stopped on the west side of the
mill, but the photo below shows the Milwaukee train stopped by
the east side of the grain elevator, just prior to when the
warehouse was built (between the elevator and the Milwaukee
train).
 Thanks
to Westby historian, Eric Leum, who writes the "HISTORICALLY
YOURS" column for the weekly newspaper, we know a lot about the
history of the Mill. Additionally we are grateful to Donna
Bean, one of Ben Logan's grandchildren who owns a title
company, for the research she did at the Vernon County
Courthouse to verify this historical account. The significant
eras in the history of the building seem to have started in
these years...
1905 - 1910 - 1911 - 1940 - 1962 - 1966
- 1990 - 1999
(scroll down to read history of each era)
1905 The CARGILL era - The Construction of the Grain
Elevator.
 The
Cargill family completed construction of the LaCrosse &
Southeastern Railroad (see Railroad page for complete details
on this very short lived but extremely interesting railroad)
which ran from LaCrosse to Viroqua, going through 5 Vernon
County villages. The Cargill family, then as now, were heavily
invested in the the agri-business of grain trading so besides
building the railroad they built a grain elevator in each of
the 5 villages, including the one at the corner of Second and
Bekkedal in Westby. Above you see a postcard with a photo
which shows that the tracks and the grain elevator had been
completed. Unfortunately the elevator was torn down in the
1970's. The 50 ft x 28 ft mill warehouse that was built on the
east side of the Cargill grain elevator (see photo below),
probably not built until about 1910, still stand today at the
corner of Bekkedal & Second. It has stood the test of time,
withstanding storms which destoyed several neighboring
buildings!
1910 - The McEachron era - The Construction of the
Mill Warehouse.
There
is some confusion about what years Mr. H.E. McEachron was
involved with the Mill and what role he played, i.e. owner or
manager. Some records indicate he was connected with the
Cargills in some way from the very beginning in 1905 when it
was just the grain elevator. Other records seem to indicate he
might have entered the scene later than the Cargills, possible
not till 1909 when we believe the Mill Warehouse building east
of the grain elevator was completed. Maybe he was the owner of
the warehouse and the Cargills the grain elevator?
(NOTE: If anyone has more information about this era please
contact us so we can more accurately record the Mill history.
We are also looking for a photo that would have been taken the
year the Mill Warehouse was completed in about 1910. The above
photo is approximately how the elevator and warehouse appeared
in 1910, but at that time the metal sheets of siding seen in
this photo were not on the building. We believe Ben Logan
covered the wood siding with the metal sheets in the early
1940's. )
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