The West End Elevator, commonly known to its users as the Dassel Farmers' Elevator, has been a symbol of agriculture and Dassel's lifeline since its construction in 1885. Farmers from the area brought corn, oats, wheat, beans, flax, rye, and barley there for storage, and from this crossroads the grain was shipped by rail on its journey to feed the world. Built of crib construction, with interlaced milled lumber stacked horizontally, the structure contains thirteen storage bins with a combined capacity of 20,000 bushels. Its style is typical of many early small elevators that once dotted the landscape along the railroads. Yankee settlers and Scandinavian immigrants cleared the Big Woods around Dassel to make the land productive for corn and small grains. The city was platted in 1869 with the arrival of the railroad and was named by James J. Hill for his friend and employee, Bernard Dassel. Today the Dassel region is nationally famous for its seed companies, chicken hatcheries, small industries, and more than 40 recreational lakes.