This 4,460-tonne elevator at Westroc Siding along the Yellowhead Highway northwest of Westbourne consists of two inter-connected wooden buildings. It was intended to serve the Amaranth, Langruth, and Longburn areas, whose elevators closed in 1984 due to rail line abandonment. The smaller 960-tonne wooden elevator to the northwest was moved from Langruth in late 1983 and renovated the following year. The larger 1,880-tonne wooden annex to the southeast was constructed in 1984. The metal silos were added in 1988. Once operated by Manitoba Pool, the facility was later sold to Delmar Commodities.
Photo: Bernie Freeman
A 66,900-bushel elevator at Bield, east of Roblin, was constructed in 1927 by the Northern Elevator Company. Bought by Manitoba Pool, major renovations were carried out in 1954 and a new annex was built in 1968. The elevator closed in December 1975 and was torn down in mid-1978.
Photo:
A 40,000-bushel elevator in Warren was built in 1948 by Manitoba Pool. Its capacity was more than doubled with the construction of an attached annex in 1956. It became the “A” elevator when Pool bought Federal Grain in 1972, with the former Federal elevator (now gone) becoming the “B” elevator. The railway line was abandoned in June 1992 but the elevator
Photo: Jean McManus
An 87,000-bushel elevator, annex, and steel bins in Dominion City were built by Manitoba Pool in 1966. They were traded to United Grain Growers, whose nearby elevator had been demolished in 1990. The facility closed in January 1999 and was demolished. During its period, the local UGG board was active in the community, hosting an annual curling bonspiel, providing trophies for 4-H public speaking competitions, purchasing uniforms for local juvenile hockey teams, and making donations for the upkeep of the local rink.
Photo: Glenn Dickson (1981)
In the 1950s, there were over 700 grain elevators in Manitoba. Today, there are fewer than 200. You can help to preserve the legacy of these disappearing “Prairie sentinels.”
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.
Read Also
Grain seller beware
Canadian farmers selling grain need to be vigilant while doing business in an unstable financial climate.
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.
