National Register Record for PONCA CITY MILLING COMPANY ELEVATOR
ID: SG100004172Historic Name: PONCA CITY MILLING COMPANY ELEVATOR
Current Name: SAME
Address: 114 WEST CENTRAL AVENUE
City: PONCA CITY County: KAY
Section: None Township: None Range: None
Description of significance: THE PONCA CITY MILLING COMPANY ELEVATOR IS ELIGIBLE FOR LISTING IN THE NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES UNDER CRITERION A FOR ITS ASSOCIATION WITH COMMERCE IN PONCA CITY BETWEEN 1922 AND 1959. INDEPENDENTLY OWNED AND OPERATED BY THE LOCALLY PROMINENT DONAHOE FAMILY FOR MOST OF ITS MOST PRODUCTIVE YEARS, THE PONCA CITY MILLING COMPANY ELEVATOR IS A COMPLEX THAT INCLUDES A SINGLE-STORY OFFICE/FLOUR STORAGE AREA, A SIX-STORY FLOUR MILL, AND CONCRETE GRAIN ELEVATOR, AND A LARGE SET OF CONCRETE, CYLINDRICAL GRAIN STORAGE BINS. TOGETHER, THIS COMPLEX WAS A SYMBOL OF WIDESPREAD AGRICULTURAL PROSPERITY IN NORTH-CENTRAL OKLAHOMA DURING THE EARLY TWENTIETH CENTURY. ITS SALE TO INTERNATIONAL MILLING COMPANY IN 1945, WHICH CLOSED THE COMPLEX FOR GOOD IN 1959, REFLECTED BROADER CHANGES IN AMERICAN AGRIBUSINESS, SPECIFICALLY THE CONSOLIDATION OF FOOD PROCESSING AND DISTRIBUTION FACILITIES AMONG A HANDFUL OF CORPORATIONS. THOUGH VACANT TODAY, THE PONCA CITY MILLING COMPANY ELEVATOR REMAINS THE LARGEST AND BEST-PRESERVED EXAMPLE OF A FLOUR MILLING AND GRAIN STORAGE OPERATION IN THE COMMUNITY. NATIONAL REGISTER LISTED 15 JULY 2019.
Type: BUILDING; STRUCTURE
Historic Function: INDUSTRY/PROCESSING/EXTRACTION: MANUFACTURING FACILITY; AGRICULTURE/SUBSISTENCE: STORAGE; COMMERCE/TRACE: SPECIALTY STORE
Current Function: VACANT/NOT IN USE
Area of Significance 1: COMMERCE
Area of Significance 2: None
Architectural Style: OTHER: CONCRETE TERMINAL GRAIN ELEVATOR; NEO-CLASSICAL REVIVAL
Architect: ARCHITECT: HARNER & WYATT; BUILDER: CHAS A. DUNNING CONSTRUCTION CO.; BUILDER: GEORGE M. ROBERTSON CONSTRUCTION CO.
Year Built: 1922-1959 Original Site: YES
Condition: FAIR
Restricted: None
Documentation Source: None
Date Prepared: SEPTEMBER 2018
