Lake of the Woods Grain Elevator / Manitoba Pool Grain Elevator
The following information was originally published in the Manitoba Historical Society Archives
Former Lake of the Woods grain elevator at Elva (September 2012) Source: Gordon Goldsborough
Interior of the former Lake of the Woods grain elevator at Elva (July 2018) Source: Suzanne Lemon
Aerial view of the former Lake of the Woods grain elevator at Elva (August 2019) Source: Steve Boyko
Former Lake of the Woods grain elevator at Elva (September 2020) Source: George Penner
Former Lake of the Woods grain elevator at Elva (May 2021) Source: Desirée Rolfe
Historic Sites of Manitoba: Lake of the Woods Grain Elevator / Manitoba Pool Grain Elevator (Elva, Municipality of Two Borders)
This wooden grain elevator at Elva, on the CPR Estevan Subdivision in what is now the Municipality of Two Borders, is believed to be the oldest standard-plan elevator in Canada. Constructed in September 1897 by the Lake of the Woods Milling Company, a new foundation and scale were installed around 1950, which has led some to suspect that the elevator was rebuilt at this time. However, its characteristic squat style, quite different from those of other prairie elevators, supports a contention that it is original.
The elevator became part of the Ogilvie Milling Company when, in 1954, the two companies merged. For reasons unknown, the elevator retained the original company name painted on its side. It was purchased in 1959 by the Manitoba Pool Elevators, which closed the elevator in 1968 and sold it to private interests.
A replica of the elevator was unveiled at a ceremony in September 2021.
Dismantling of the elevator, to recover its useful metal and wooden parts, began in early 2022. During this process, the wooden crib was destroyed by an accidental fire on 5 April 2022.