Spruce Grove Grain Elevator Museum

Last updated
Spruce Grove Grain Elevator Museum
Alberta County Point Locator.svg
Red pog.svg
Location within Alberta
Established1995 (1995)
Location Spruce Grove, Alberta, Canada
Coordinates 53°32′25″N113°54′12″W / 53.54019°N 113.90328°W / 53.54019; -113.90328
TypeFarm history, farmers market, museum.
DirectorRichard Lee, Elsie Rodeman, Ed Huber, Lorene O'Neill, Moira Juleff [1]
Website Spruce Grove Grain Elevator Museum

The Spruce Grove Grain Elevator Museum is a former Alberta Wheat Pool grain elevator that has been preserved as a working museum run by the volunteers of the Spruce Grove and District Agricultural Society. The elevator stands within the City of Spruce Grove, Alberta, next to the Canadian National Railway and is the last elevator remaining heading west on the Yellowhead Highway and along the CN.

Contents

History

In 1933 there were 1800 primary elevators in Western Canada. But in 2003, there were only 389 and the number has continued to decrease. As of 21 April 2013, there were 313 known grain facilities in Alberta: 258 wooden, 42 concrete, and 12 steel elevators and annexes. [2] In the City of Spruce Grove, only one grain elevator remained of three that had once been next to the railway; the other two had been destroyed in 1987 and 1991. The Spruce Grove and District Agricultural Society stepped in to prevent the demolition of the last elevator, buying it from Alberta Wheat Pool for a $1 along with the 1 acre (4,000 m2) that the elevator sits on for $35,000. Through donations to the Spruce Grove and District Agricultural Society, they are able to fund the upkeep of this elevator. For example, community donations and government grants allowed the Spruce Grove and District Agricultural Society to repaint the exterior of the Grain Elevator Museum in spring 2012 for $70,000.[ citation needed ]

Spruce Grove and District Agricultural Heritage Society

When the Spruce Grove and District Agricultural Heritage Society was initially organized, they built the Spruce Grove Agrena, a building which continues to serve the community today (hockey rink). The Ag Society sponsored and organized the Agra Fair, which grew to become one of Western Canada's largest events of its kind, which continued for thirty years. After the fair's closure, the Ag Society began its work on the grain elevator and the town water tower.

The organization is run by volunteer members. The goal of the Ag Society is to promote tourism by drawing visitors to a venue which provides cultural, educational, and interpretive information on agricultural processes and history, and the heritage of the Prairie region.

Water tower

In 1957, a large water tower of 41,000 imperial gallons (190 m3) capacity was set up at McLeod Avenue and Main Street in Spruce Grove. In June 1978, three years after Edmonton water was brought in, the water tower was sold and dismantled. Since then, the water tower lay forgotten and abandoned in a farmer's field, east of Spruce Grove and north of Highway 16A.

In 2010, the water tower was saved by the Ag Society volunteers and transported to the grain elevator site. The Ag Society volunteers, local businesses, and a donation by a local philanthropist were important for taking the first steps of restoring the water tower. In September 2011 work began, first with the sandblasting and undercoating of the tank.

The local mural artist, James MacKay of Outhere Art & Design, worked with the Ag Society volunteer committee to create a mural. The mural, which represents a 1958 Spruce Grove city landscape, was completed in October.

On November 8, 2011, the historic water tower was erected and placed back in Spruce Grove. "It kind of brings Spruce Grove alive," building Chairman George Sewell told CTV News. "We have nothing here in Spruce Grove that really tells the Spruce Grove story." [3]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grain elevator</span> Grain storage building

A grain elevator is a facility designed to stockpile or store grain. In the grain trade, the term "grain elevator" also describes a tower containing a bucket elevator or a pneumatic conveyor, which scoops up grain from a lower level and deposits it in a silo or other storage facility.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Spruce Grove</span> City in Alberta, Canada

Spruce Grove is a city that is 11 km (6.8 mi) west of Edmonton, Alberta, in Canada. The city is adjacent to the Town of Stony Plain and is surrounded by Parkland County.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dawson Creek</span> City in British Columbia, Canada

Dawson Creek is a city in northeastern British Columbia, Canada. The municipality of 24.37 square kilometres (9.41 sq mi) had a population of 12,978 in 2016. Dawson Creek derives its name from the creek of the same name that runs through the community. The creek was named after George Mercer Dawson by a member of his land survey team when they passed through the area in August 1879. Once a small farming community, Dawson Creek became a regional centre after the western terminus of the Northern Alberta Railways was extended there in 1932. The community grew rapidly in 1942 as the US Army used the rail terminus as a transshipment point during construction of the Alaska Highway. In the 1950s, the city was connected to the interior of British Columbia via a highway and a railway through the Rocky Mountains. Since the 1960s, growth has slowed, but the area population has increased.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nanton, Alberta</span> Town in Alberta, Canada

Nanton is a town in southern Alberta, Canada. Nanton was named after Sir Augustus Meredith Nanton of Winnipeg (1860–1925) who directed firms which offered financing for farms and ranches throughout the west. It is located south of Calgary at the junction of Highway 2 and Highway 533.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alberta Wheat Pool</span>

The Alberta Wheat Pool was the first of Canada's wheat farmer co-operatives in 1923.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Halkirk, Alberta</span> Village in Alberta, Canada

Halkirk is a village in central Alberta, Canada within the County of Paintearth No. 18. It is located 122 kilometres (76 mi) east of Red Deer at the intersection of Highway 12 and Highway 855. Founded in 1912, Halkirk was named after Halkirk, Scotland. With commercial operations beginning on December 1, 2012, Capital Power Corporation operates Alberta's third largest wind farm, with 83 Vestas V90 Wind Turbines in the area totalling 150MW capacity.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saskatchewan Wheat Pool</span> Canadian grain handling company

The Saskatchewan Wheat Pool was a grain handling, agri-food processing and marketing company based in Regina, Saskatchewan. The Pool created a network of marketing alliances in North America and internationally which made it the largest agricultural grain handling operation in the province of Saskatchewan. Before becoming Viterra, SWP had operated 276 retail outlets and more than 100 grain handling and marketing centres. The Saskatchewan Wheat Pool operated under the name of AgPro in the prairie provinces of Manitoba and Alberta. Begun as a co-operative in the 1920s, the company became a publicly traded corporation in the 1990s. After the 2007 takeover of its competitor, Winnipeg-based Agricore United, the Pool name was retired. The merged company operated under the name Viterra until 2013, when it was acquired by Glencore International.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wheat pools in Canada</span>

A wheat pool is a co-operative that markets grain on behalf of its farmer-members.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Raley, Alberta</span> Settlement in Alberta, Canada (est. 1909)

Raley, Alberta is an unincorporated community in Cardston County, Alberta, Canada. The population of Raley was 5 in 1966. The community is located about 4 km north of Highway 3, and about 15 km east of the Town of Cardston. Raley is named after C. Raley, of Lethbridge.

Richardson International Limited is a privately held Canadian agricultural and food industry company headquartered in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The company is one of several companies that are owned by James Richardson & Sons Limited. The company is a worldwide handler and merchandiser of all major Canadian-grown grains and oilseeds and a vertically integrated processor and manufacturer of oats and canola-based products. Richardson has over 2,500 employees across Canada, the U.S. and U.K. Richardson International is a subsidiary of James Richardson & Sons, Limited, established in 1857.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Canadian Grain Elevator Discovery Centre</span> Agriculture museum in Alberta, Canada

The Canadian Grain Elevator Discovery Centre is a set of restored grain elevators located in Nanton, Alberta, Canada. The centre's goal is to preserve examples of old grain elevators to educate visitors about the town's, and Alberta's, agricultural history.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scandia Eastern Irrigation District Museum</span> Open-air, Irrigation museum in Alberta, Canada

The Scandia Eastern Irrigation District Museum is an open-air museum in Southern Alberta, Canada. The museum includes a historic 1925 Alberta Wheat Pool grain elevator, Bow Slope Stockyard, and displays of how irrigation has affected the prosperity of the area. The museum is part of Eastern Irrigation District Historical Park, which also includes a blacksmith shop, barn, general store, stock yards and river ferry.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Torrington Gopher Hole Museum</span>

The Prairie Elevator Museum is a former Alberta Wheat Pool grain elevator that has been restored and converted into a community gift shop and tea house. The elevator stands within the Hamlet of Acadia Valley, Alberta, next to the defunct Canadian National Railway track bed.

Craddock is a former unincorporated community in southern Alberta, Canada within the County of Warner No. 5. It is located between the Village of Stirling and the Hamlet of New Dayton, approximately 30 kilometres (19 mi) southeast of the City of Lethbridge on Highway 4.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St. Albert Grain Elevator Park</span> Museum in Alberta, Canada

St. Albert Grain Elevator Park is an open-air museum which features two historic grain elevators and a reconstructed railway station.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saskatchewan Grain Growers' Association</span>

The Saskatchewan Grain Growers' Association (SGGA) was a farmer's association that was active in Saskatchewan, Canada in the early 20th century. It was a successor to the Territorial Grain Growers' Association, and was formed in 1906 after Saskatchewan became a province. It provided a voice for farmers in their struggle with grain dealers and the railways, and was influential in obtaining favorable legislation. The association initially resisted calls to create a farmer-owned marketing company. Later it did support formation of the Saskatchewan Co-operative Elevator Company. The SGGA helped the Saskatchewan Wheat Pool, a cooperative marketing organization, to become established in 1924. In 1926 the SGGA merged with the more radical Farmers' Union of Canada, which had earlier split from the SGGA, to create the United Farmers of Canada,

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saskatchewan Co-operative Elevator Company</span>

The Saskatchewan Co-operative Elevator Company (SCEC) was a farmer-owned enterprise that provided grain storage and handling services to farmers in Saskatchewan, Canada between 1911 and 1926, when its assets were purchased by the Saskatchewan Wheat Pool.

References

  1. Ag Society Board of Directors
  2. Vanishing Sentinels
  3. Lye, Chandra (2011-11-08). "Landmark resurrected in Spruce Grove". CTV News . Retrieved 2023-08-03.