Agricultural History Series |
Missouri State University |
1904 St. Louis Worlds Fair
The Missouri Corn Towers and Temple
An attraction that drew crowds to the Missouri exhibit was the corn towers. There were two 38 ft tall towers with a 45 ft replica of the Louisiana Purchase Monument at their center. The monument displayed two flags; the American flag and the Louisiana Purchase Emblem, both made of naturally colored corn shucks and leaf blades.
One of Missouri's Corn Towers.
A fourth tower, which was an actual building, was often referred to as “the corn temple”.
The Corn Palace of the Missouri display.
It was 65 ft tall with a dome at the top that reached 125 ft in circumference and had a large bronze colored ear of corn extending 10 ft from the top of the dome with a circumference of 12 ft. The temple used 1000 bushels and consisted of fifty different shades of corn and was often used as a lounge and a meeting place.
References:
St. Louis Star; September 11, 1904
Missouri Agricultural Report 1905. Pages 204-205
This page is designed by Nathan Fortner and is maintained by Lyndon Irwin.