Casselton Can Pile
"World's Largest Tower of Oil Cans"
Casselton, North Dakota

Click Here to take the "Casselton Can Pile" Photo Tour

Welcome to the Casselton Can Pile...
Reported to be the "World's Largest Tower of Oil Cans", the "Casselton Can Pile", as it is regionally known, is a fun North Dakota roadside attraction with history.  The "Can Pile", in its prime, served as a landmark on what was once "US Highway 10" (replaced by Interstate 94) also referred to as "Old 10".

Built in 1933 by a man named Max G. Taubert, the owner/operator of a Sinclair gas station and small lunch counter located at the intersection of Highway 10 and Highway 18.  It is here where Max began stacking empty oil cans into a cone shape - probably for lack of a better place to discard them and, after a while, probably because of the notoriety the "Can Pile" started to attract.  So much notoriety, in fact, that the gas station itself came to be known as the "Can Pile", although its original name was the "Brick House".

Sources provide conflicting information concerning the actual height and width of the famed "Casselton Can Pile", ranging between 50 feet to 25 feet in height and between 18 feet to 15 feet in width.  Still, it is rumored to be the "World's Largest Tower of Oil Cans", although it may be the only tower of oil cans in existence.  It is anybody's guess as to the number of cans that make up this colossal tower, but it must be in the thousands.  It is now owned by Loegering Manufacturing which displays it proudly in its parking lot in Casselton, North Dakota.

Casselton Can Pile Fun Facts...
Fact #1: The "Casselton Can Pile" was built around an old windmill tower, with the lower half acting as a combination chicken coup and pigeon house.  The remainder of the tower is solid oil cans to the top.

Fact #2: The "Casselton Can Pile" withstood a tornado attack. If you look at the tower, it is abundantly clear that it is not a straight tower - it leans dramatically. It is not clear if it had been actually knocked over at one point and reconstructed, or just tipped a little. Locals seem to remember a tornado in the late 70's or early 80's that may have been the culprit.  This particular tornado was powerful enough to rip the roof from an adjacent building.

Fact #3: The "Casselton Can Pile" has been moved approximately 300 feet to the northeast from its original 1933 building site. In its prime, the tower was said to have stood an astounding 50 feet tall.

How to Find It...
To find this truly unique North Dakota roadside attraction take EXIT 331 off of Interstate 94 (Casselton exit).  Go towards the town of Casselton for about 200 feet then turn LEFT onto the frontage road along the Interstate.  Travel about a block or two and you will see the "Casselton Can Pile" in all its enormous glory.  You can't miss it, trust me!

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