Chris Stackhouse Photography

This classic prairie town of Collins, Montana is situated west from exit 321 on Interstate 15, easy to travel on the gravel roads when dry and yet a little difficult after heavy rain.
The year 1890 marked the arrival of the “Great Falls & Canada Railroad” through Collins, it was a narrow gauge track from Lethbridge, Alberta. The town flourished for a few generations as a local depot, and serviced a large area of Montana until the farming community started moving into larger towns and hubs. Its population at its peak was about 150, there was a bank, hotel, school, stores and two grain elevators.
One of the elevators was operated by “General Mills” and has since been pulled down; the remaining elevator still stands with its original tin cladding of 1928. This elevator was originally registered to the “Central Elevator Co” with a capacity of 25,000 bushels, and towards the end of its life in the mid 70’s was operated by “Cargill” (The faded remnants of the Cargill lettering can be seen on the side).
This photograph was in a way a reward for driving south from the town of Brady in a heavy rain storm on slick muddy roads; to arrive in Collins with perfect sunshine, the tail end of the storm as a backdrop and a sparkling elevator to shoot. The silence, smells and gentle breeze at this time are truly overpowering to me. I hope this image is able to give you some of these sensations.

Limited Edition print with 50 prints in the series.