Grain Elevators of DeWinton

When speaking of DeWinton Alberta, the cliched phrase “blink and you’ll miss it” comes to mind. A stone’s throw from metro Calgary, it’s just a tiny speck on the map. Well hidden in a small valley and only accessible via a winding back road, consequently not many people have heard of it. A handful of residents call it home, with additional folks living on acreages nearby and the hamlet’s only retail business is a small store in “downtown”. There’s a decidedly rural feel here…very rural…yet no more than a few clicks away is a sprawling urban centre. A glow is visible at night, but otherwise the topography hides the encroaching city from direct view.

There’s two old time grain elevators in Dewinton and that’s what we’ve come to see.

First, what’s in a name? We asked around and soon found that no one seems to agree on the proper spelling. Some old papers call it Dewinton, one road sign displays De Winton and yet for another it’s DeWinton. Both locals and former residents all agreed to disagree when it comes to this with De Winton among them leading by a small margin. In the spirit of détente (or is that dé tente or Dé Tente) we’ll use all of them, randomly of course. Google Maps does this, so likewise why can’t we?

Full disclosure…the history of these buildings, which we’ll speak of collectively as the pair, twins or the De Winton Two is lacking. There’s so little in the way of solid data, so many holes and many missing pieces to the puzzle. Conversely, we’ll keep our eyes open for new information and share it here if found. Don’t hold your breath, though.

It’s said the most southerly elevator dates from 1906. As such, this makes it one of the oldest in the province and one of a handful from pre-1910 still extant in Alberta today. In case you’re curious, the others are from 1905 (Raley), 1906 (St Albert) and finally Hobbema (1906, now here: Alberta Central Museum.) In contradiction, a few documents state it’s a couple decades newer but the earlier date by far gets the most votes. We looked up land records but came up empty there, something not entirely unexpected. Information on old buildings, rural ones in particular, is often hit or miss.

In DeWinton Alberta hunting grain elevators.

Not unlike most vintage grain elevators on the Canadian Plains. it follows a fairly standard pattern and is built of 2x6s laid flat, tied together by huge beams and a billion nails. Talk about being overbuilt! A firm by the name of Richcraft is said to have operated it originally, however a deep-search turned up nothing on the company. Perhaps in the 1920s, perhaps earlier, another firm took over but who and when they were remains an unknown at this point. Again, no mention was found in a any documents sourced. Despite our best efforts, we sometimes fail to dig up anything useful.

The firm United Grain Growers, one of the big boys of the industry back then and with a huge elevator network, is listed as the owner beginning in the 1950s. At some point circa 1980, or thereabouts, they closed the facility. In the 1990s(?) it was owned by Diamond Fertilizers. It, along with the other “vator” seen here were acquired at the same time and were modified to serve their needs.

The office/drive engine shed.

Later still the elevator became an anchor building for a furniture maker, which had permanently closed just prior our visit.

This elevator, while pretty typical, is maybe on the small side. The scale set up is different from any we’ve ever seen. Research is ongoing and of course, we encouraged experts to chime in.

The second elevator is somewhat larger and like its neighbour, we don’t know much about it. One report mentions it being built in 1909 (with a big question mark beside it), where as a number of other sources say the 1920s. Since we know there’s only three pre-1910 elevators in the province, we surmise it must be that newer date or at least some date post 1910. We’re not confident in any of this, incidentally.

The original owner was one “Hogg & Lyle” but nothing else otherwise is known about the firm. It said to have traded hands, as grain elevators often do, with the same UGG firm having it for a time in the 1950s and beyond. The firm Parrish and Heimbecker, another well known firm in the grain biz, is also mentioned as having owned it pre-UGG but with no corroborating dates.

UGG, no not the boot company, the grain firm, only went out of business (via mergers), in the early 2000s. P&H is still around.

Diamond Fertilizer, as mentioned before, bought this one as well. They also operated as Catl-Lac Feeds or so some old signage on the one wall tells us. These buildings functioned as storage facilities for their bulk products. After the furniture company acquired the pair, this elevator became the north anchor for a long building housing their main production area. It’s strange how they incorporated these into the complex. This elevator has been heavily modified inside on the ground level.

Beside this elevator is the old office/drive engine shed. The one for the south elevator is gone. It was usual practice to isolate the drive machinery from the flammable environment inside the elevator proper.

There was once a third grain elevator in De Winton. Lasting only about a dozen years in the 1920s/1930s period, it’s not clear the location in relation to the current ones. We looked in the grass for an old foundation or some kind of evidence but found nothing. Empty handed is a pattern here.

These prairie sentinels, incidentally, are two of some two hundred and fifty wood grain elevators left in the province today. This is down from a high of some eighteen hundred (!) at the peak in the 1930s. They’re a dying breed, for sure. Well into the 1990s there was still a huge number of them standing (built 1910s-1980s and all looking much like these ones). Now, not so much. Most fell during a period of consolidations and other great change within the industry (ca 1995-2005). And her we thought they’d last forever!

What the deal with the wood working shop? Well, it operated for a number of years and was kept busy making, restoring and refinishing furniture. They were big enough to require a good sized moving truck. The operation has recently wound down, the tools and machinery auctioned off shortly after our visit. Lots of reminders of this woodworking past can be found about the property, even inside the elevators. Like old chairs scattered everywhere, for example.

The main workshop floor is well worn, suggesting real heavy use – or reuse – or that the wood working section is older than what was suggested to us. Hmmmm.

Old trailers, both the pulled-behind-a-truck kind and the Ricky-and-Julian-live-in kind, can be found on the property. They’re used for storage.

The most northerly of the two elevators.

The Canadian Pacific Railway runs out back. This dates from the 1890s and is the firm’s north/south mainline between Calgary and Lethbridge. A moderately busy stretch of track, lucky us a train showed while we were on site. And perfect timing too, just at sunset was upon us, made all the more incredible due to smoke from forest fires. The elevator siding is still in place, mostly, but disconnected from the main line. Grass hides most of it. At one time, interestingly, there used to be some heritage rail cars stored here (see: DeWinton De Winton Dewinton. That post, as might be obvious from its title, also touches on the name debate.

Basking in the soft light of evening.

Seen on property, old trucks and cars, a former “Coast Guard” boat, miscellaneous metal and even a 1970s/1980s era “ten speed”. The usual stuff that accumulates in places like this. Some rare (in Canada that is) Mercedes L Series trucks languish in the back forty. Along with a huge number of metal chair frames.

De Winton first makes mention in the 1890s and was named after a British Military Officer who established a ranch in the area in the early days. Back then Calgary was much further away but as the city’s grown, that gap has sure been narrowing and soon it might just be knocking on the door. Historic MacLeod Trail, an early trade route, passes right through town.

An experiment. A fair number of the pics seen were shot on a tiny mirroless camera, Connie’s camera (Pany GX85), outfitted with lenses off a Minolta film camera. While the results are nothing short of amazing – those old lenses are something fine – the combo can take on fabulously ridiculous proportions when a long zoon lens in used. That’s one front heavy rig!

The elevators, the land and some houses on the property, were all for sale on our visit. We’re not sure what the current owners have planned for the building, but we might have to check in sometime.

More elevator tours…
Bashaw Processors.
Alberta Wheat Pool Menaik.
Searle Grain.
Prairie Sentinels – Woodhouse Alberta – Vandervalk Farm.

If you wish more information on what you’ve seen here, feel free to contact us!

Date: August, 2017.
Location: DeWinton De Winton Dewinton, AB.
Article references (and thanks): Realtor John Fraser, Alberta Register of Historic Places, Jason Sailer, Book: Place Names of Alberta,
The DeWinton Grain Elevators are on private property and BIGDoer.com visited with permission.

The south elevator dates from 1906.

Catl-Lac Feeds (aka Diamond Fertilizer) was an earlier owner – north elevator.

One for the birds…

The old bin selector…

…and weight scale.

In the wood shop.

The floor has character.

Old trucks in retirement.

These are all Mercedes L Series.

Chair frames…

Red Elders grow in abundance on the property.

Grain elevators were the tallest things in small town Alberta.

A good crop of Choke Cherries.

Both elevators also show the name Diamond Fertilizer.

There’s an old rail siding there in the grass.

More woodworking shop reminders.

Taking us back it’s this Apollo “Ten Speed”.

An ancient gas pump.

The buildings & property were for sale on our visit.

The north elevator office/engine shed, front angle.

A Ford B Series furniture moving truck.

Inside one of the oldest in the province.

Chairs everywhere!

…And others.

A different weight scale setup.

Film lenses on mirrorless cameras can take on ridiculous proportions.

Rail from 1918.

Smoke from forest fires makes for an amazing sky.

An old trailer used for storage.

Cheep…cheep…cheep.

Ex-Coast Guard.

Between the elevators, the wood shop.

A CPR Train passes.

Lucky us.

At one time there were some historic rail cars parked here – read the post.

The Mighty BIGDoer-mobile.

Waiting for night to fall…

Light from nearby Calgary masks all but the brightest stars.

Still, some came out to play.

Shadow in the scene…sloppy photographer!