Harvey Mikkelson Steam-up Festival

This mural, located on First Street on the side of the Silverton Elks Lodge, was painted in 2013 by artist Tonya Smithburg. It is dedicated to those days between 1954 and 1966 when Silverton had an annual festival and parade of threshing machines that started off the beginning of each harvest season. The festival was held on the Mikkelson farm located off Pine Street, and during its most popular years was said to have had over 10,000 people in attendance. The festival featured threshing bees to celebrate and prepare for the upcoming harvest. Aside from the festival, a parade of local threshers and steam engines made its way through the streets of Silverton. This mural was commissioned by Harvey Mikkelson’s daughter, who lives on the Pine Street farm where she still has many of her father’s antique steam engines and farming equipment.