Check out our list of grain elevator books! There are tons of books about Canadian grain elevators, American ones, and grain elevators in general. See classics like Greg McDonnell’s Wheat Kings and newer ones like Chris Attrell’s Grain Elevators: Beacons of the Prairies.
Building an Elevator, 1928 Style
I received these photographs of a grain elevator under construction in Saskatchewan in 1928. The location is unknown but you can see it was a Lake of the Woods elevator. The contributor’s grandfather, Arvid Koski, was one of the builders and is the person on the left on the top of the grain elevator.
Thanks for sharing these!
Welcome to Aidan Wakely-Mulroney!
I’d like to welcome a new contributor, Aidan Wakely-Mulroney! He contributed a collection of grain elevator photos from Alberta and the northwestern USA to Grain Elevators of Canada. Please visit Aidan’s contributor page to learn more. Thank you, Aidan!
Digitally Preserving Grain Elevators
Students from several Alberta universities and colleges are working to digitally preserve grain elevators in Alberta. This CBC article describes the work they are doing to record the Nanton grain elevators using NavVis digital mapping devices. I believe they have already recorded the Wrentham elevator.
Wooden grain elevators are being demolished every year and there aren’t many left. Initiatives like this, and sites like this one, are crucial to record these prairie sentinels before they are gone.
I love that technology like digital mapping, drones, satellite imagery, and digital cameras are all being used to record grain elevators. They are a great complement to film photographs from the heyday of wooden grain elevators, like the Donald Hamilton collection, the Howdy McPhail collection and the Ole Kirkhus collection.
Please consider contributing to our site to help preserve the memory of these elevators.
2023 Grain Elevator Calendars
Contributors Jason Paul Sailer and Mark David Zulkoskey are offering grain elevator calendars for 2023.
- Grain Elevators Across the Prairies by Mark Zulkoskey
- Wheat Kings 2023 by Jason Paul Sailer
Please consider buying one of their calendars!
Help Preserve a Grain Elevator
Please consider donating to preserve a grain elevator. The Ogilvie Wooden Grain Elevator Society owns the former Ogilvie grain elevator in Wrentham, Alberta, south of Lethbridge. This historic elevator is in its original location and is the last Ogilvie elevator left in Alberta, and one of very few remaining in Canada.
Wooden grain elevators are costly to maintain. Every donation helps! Your donation is tax deductible for Canadians.
Oldest Grain Elevator Being Dismantled
Regretfully, the former Lake of the Woods grain elevator in Elva, Manitoba is being dismantled. This grain elevator became the oldest remaining grain elevator in the Canadian prairies after the Fleming elevator was destroyed by arson.
There are actually two elevators in Elva, and a newer concrete elevator outside of town. The newer elevator in Elva is a former UGG elevator. The Lake of the Woods elevator is a short, squat elevator and was built in 1897.
The elevators will be dismantled and the cladding, boards and nails will be sold.
New Elevators for a New Year
We wish you a very belated “happy new year” for 2022. As a late gift for the new year, here are some “new to us” grain elevators to share, and some updates on existing elevators. We have been scanning more of the Donald Hamilton collection of grain elevator photos, as well as acquiring other images, and we have lots to share. Here are the new elevators for Grain Elevators of Canada, by province or state:
Manitoba
- Darlingford, Manitoba
- Foxwarren, Manitoba
- Hargrave, Manitoba
- Kemnay, Manitoba
- Kirkella, Manitoba
- Mather, Manitoba
- McCauley, Manitoba
- Menzie, Manitoba
- Pilot Mound, Manitoba
- Poplar Point, Manitoba
- Portage la Prairie, Manitoba
- Rosenfeld, Manitoba
- Ste. Rose, Manitoba
Saskatchewan
Alberta
Minnesota
North Dakota
Two Canadian Grain Elevator Calendars
Two contributors to this site, Mark Zulkoskey and Jason Paul Sailer, are offering 2022 Canadian grain elevator calendars for sale. I encourage you to check both calendars out and buy one – or both!
Jason’s calendar is called “Wheat Kings 2022“.
Mark’s is called “Grain Elevators of the Prairies“.
Fire Destroys “Dog River” Elevator
Regrettably, fire has claimed the last grain elevator in Rouleau, Saskatchewan. This ex Saskatchewan Wheat Pool elevator was made famous by the Corner Gas TV series, and it was relabeled as “Dog River” for the show.
The CBC reported that fire crews were called between 2 and 3 AM on November 5, 2021to the fire. By then it was fully involved and the fire crews worked to keep the fire from spreading.
Photos show the elevator was completely destroyed, with only a few pieces of scorched equipment remaining. Rail cars in the adjacent siding were scorched.
The elevator was built in 1973 and sold to a local farmer in the mid 1990s. It was used for storing grain for a while but had been dormant for the past few years.