CASSELTON (AP) - A giant pile of empty oil cans that has stood in this city for nearly 75 years is being evicted.

The so-called "Old Can Pile" faces a May 29 eviction date from its spot on Loegering Manufacturing's property near Interstate 94. The can pile is filled with countless empty oil cans held together by chicken wire. A former service station owner created the pile in the 1930s.

Loegering Manufacturing president Kurt Bollman said the company has been sold twice in the past four years, prompting the need for environmental studies. Worries arose about possible contamination from the oil cans, he said.

Some employees also call the can pile an eyesore, he said.

"Regardless of what you want to call it, it is a pile of garbage," Bollman said. "Aesthetically, it's not something we want around."

Ken Habiger, a former president of the Casselton Historical Society, wants to preserve the tower.

"I think we have an obligation to help preserve our history," he said.

The story of the Old Can Pile dates back to 1933, when Max Taubert opened a Sinclair 24-hour service station at the intersection of Highway 10 and Highway 18.

Truckers hauling cattle to West Fargo often stopped at the station, known for its tasty hamburgers.

Back in those days, cars didn't go far on gas and used a lot of water and oil, said Habiger, who worked at the station as a teenager in the 1940s.

So Taubert put chicken wire around an old windmill and began throwing empty oil cans in there. After he built the can pile as high as he could, the structure became a tourist attraction and brought people to the city, Habiger said.

When Taubert died in 1973, the Loegering family bought the property to establish their manufacturing business. The can pile was moved about 300 feet to the northeast and has remained there since.

Not even a tornado in the mid-1970s could deter the can pile, although it did tilt the structure, said Greg Kempel, president of the Casselton Tourism Committee.

"There's probably not another can pile in the world. These aren't just any cans. They don't make oil cans anymore," he said.

Facing the May deadline to figure out how to save the can pile, Casselton residents contacted the Cass County Historical Society for help.

Bonanzaville Executive Director Bruce Whitmarsh said the can pile represents the golden age of the automobile when families would go for Sunday drives and visit roadside attractions.

Although it would be best to keep the structure in Casselton, Whitmarsh said he is looking into the cost of moving the pile to Bonanzaville in West Fargo.