Historic Hayden Granary
We envision the Historic Hayden Granary as a gathering place in Northwest Colorado to steward and preserve the historic facility and its relevance for our community’s future. We strongly believe that by creating space for food, beverage, arts, and gathering we connect the community back to the land and one another.
The Historic Hayden Granary Inc. is a 501(c)3 non-profit formed in 2019 that aims to restore, and enliven one of Routt County’s historical treasures by creating inviting community gathering spaces.
The Hayden Granary is the only existing grain elevator in Routt County. In its heyday, the elevator bolstered the local agricultural economy, providing many services and goods to area farmers. Today the grain elevator remains as an important representation of the agricultural, economic and engineering history of early twentieth-century Routt County.
In 1917, Hayden, and surrounding area members of the local Farmer’s Union, joined together to form the Hayden Co-Operative Elevator Company. After incorporating the Co-Operative, planning for construction of the elevator took place. The elevator was to have a capacity of 11,000 bushels of grain and a two-car cement cellar for shipping and receiving root vegetables. In August of 1917, a triangular strip of land on the north end of town was acquired, and construction of the grain elevator began in September of 1917. By the middle of December, the elevator was in full operation.
Throughout its existence, the Hayden Co-Operative Elevator, like many grain elevators, was largely dependent on cycles in farming and cyclical changes in weather and market considerations. With decreased wheat production in the Yampa Valley, grain operations entirely closed in 1988 and the facility re-opened in 1992 as Yampa Valley Feeds (a livestock feed and tack store). In 2013 food and community gathering became the focus for the Granary with the addition of Wild Goose Coffee. The Granary continues its journey as a thriving business district as it continues the journey ‘from grains to gatherings’.
We’ve been the grateful recipients of several recent articles which can bring you up to speed:
Moffat County Locals: Tammie Delaney brings together comfort, smiles, friends at Hayden’s Wild Goose at the Granary Coffee
Architecture students help Hayden Granary’s future come into focus
Artists gain insight during Carpenter Ranch residency
Plans for community hub in Hayden Granary move forward
The Hayden Granary connects the past to the future and people to each other in an authentic western setting. We know many of you feel the same!
