A 40,000-bushel grain elevator at Mentmore, southwest of Neepawa in what is now the Municipality of North Cypress-Langford, was built in 1927 on land donated by Thomas Drayson. Operated by the Mentmore Co-operative Elevator Association, the first agent was Ken McDougall of Russell, who later purchased the local store. A crib annex was built beside the elevator between 1957 and 1959. The facility closed in December 1978 as the railway line was abandoned. The tracks were removed in June 1979. In the fall of 1980, the annex was moved to Franklin and, the following spring, the elevator was sold to Drayson descendants who used it as storage for their seed business. It appeared to be unused when this aerial photo was taken earlier this year.
Photo: Gordon Goldsborough
A 35,000-bushel wooden elevator at Kelwood, on the CNR Neepawa Subdivision in the Rural Municipality of Rosedale, was built in 1929 for Western Canada Flour Mills. In August 1940, it was taken over by the newly-formed Kelwood Co-operative Elevator Association. Initially handling just grain, the Co-operative began to sell coal in 1950 and farm supplies such as fertilizer, pesticide, and baler twine in 1963. A balloon annex was built beside it in 1969, increasing its capacity to 68,300 bushels. The facility was closed in December 1971, shortly before this photo was taken, and traded to United Grain Growers which, in turn, closed it in December 1979. The elevator and annex were sold to the community, along with UGG's other elevator built in 1927. Both elevators were removed from the site sometime before 2000. Does anyone know when?
Photo: University of Manitoba Archives & Special Collections
Built in 1927 for United Grain Growers, a 30,000-bushel grain elevator in the village of Hilton, on the CNR Wawanesa Subdivision in what is now the Rural Municipality of Prairie Lakes, was closed in July 1966, never having had an annex built beside it. The last of three elevators that once stood at Hilton, the building was traded to Manitoba Pool in 1976 and moved 12 miles to Ninette, where it replaced an elevator that had collapsed suddenly. It stood there until demolition in 1989.
Photo: University of Manitoba Archives & Special Collections
A 40,000-bushel grain elevator in Clanwilliam, in the RM of Minto-Odanah, was built in 1928 and operated by a co-operative association affiliated with Manitoba Pool. By the 1960s, it had a balloon annex on one side and an older, smaller elevator on the other. In 1982, the elevator was fully modernized, the balloon annex was removed, and a new crib annex replaced the old elevator. Closed in April 1996 when the CNR Rossburn Subdivision was abandoned, the facility has not been used for several years. As this recent photo shows, its metal cladding is damaged in several places and the exposed wood is deteriorating.
Photo: Gordon Goldsborough
The Manitoba Historical Society (MHS) is gathering information about all elevators that ever stood in Manitoba, regardless of their present status. Collaborating with the Manitoba Co-operator it is supplying these images of a grain elevator each week in hopes readers will be able to tell the society more about it, or any other elevator they know of.
MHS Gordon Goldsborough webmaster and Journal editor has developed a website to post your replies to a series of questions about elevators. The MHS is interested in all grain elevators that have served the farm community.
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Your contributions will help gather historical information such as present status of elevators, names of companies, owners and agents, rail lines, year elevators were built — and dates when they were torn down (if applicable).
There is room on the website to post personal recollections and stories related to grain elevators. The MHS presently also has only a partial list of all elevators that have been demolished. You can help by updating that list if you know of one not included on that list.
Your contributions are greatly appreciated and will help the MHS develop a comprehensive, searchable database to preserve the farm community’s collective knowledge of what was once a vast network of grain elevators across Manitoba.
Please contribute to This Old Grain Elevator website here.
You will receive a response, by email or phone call, confirming that your submission was received.
Goldsborough is interested in hearing all sorts of experiences about the elevators — funny, sad, or anything in between. Readers willing to share their stories can leave messages at 204-474-7469.
