Photographing the Wheat Pool Elevator in Brant

Whenever I head out from Calgary on a rural exploration trip that takes me towards the south east, I often take a drive past Brant's last remaining wooden grain elevator to have a look at it and see how it's doing.  And maybe if conditions are good, see if I can get a photo that is better or different from what I have currently. 

The old Wheat Pool Elevator is pretty easily accessible along a gravel road on the edge of town. It's the last remaining elevator here, and would likely have been torn down long ago but for its purchase by a local farmer for grain storage and handling.  The tracks that run through town are still being used, so there is some economic sense to keep it in operation.

**Scroll down to see pictures**

The grain elevator itself dates back to the 1920s and was likely built by Home Grain. After a series of mergers and acquisitions, the Brant elevator found itself within the Alberta Wheat Pool system.  In fact, it retains its current green colour from its time as a Wheat Pool elevator. 

Technology changed and farms got bigger and relied on more heavy machinery and larger trucks to move grain. The result was that the smaller wooden grain elevators became redundant as farmers sent grain by semi-truck to large concrete terminals that were situated much further apart.  

Long gone were the days when wooden grain elevators needed to be close enough to farms that they were accessible to farmers hauling grain by horse and wagon or the early engine powered trucks.

While it's hard for those of us who have some affinity to these old prairie sentinels to see them disappear, it's just the way the world works and we have to come to terms with that fact.  Hopefully, we can preserve enough of these buildings for future generations to get a sense of just how important these buildings were to the growth of the prairies. 

Do you have a favourite wooden grain elevator in Alberta, Saskatchewan or Manitoba? Would love to hear your stories of grain elevators. 

Winter Photos

The photos for this post were taken on a cold winter day, fairly early in the morning. I was looking to create some really minimalist images and so I intentionally framed the photographs in a way to avoid getting too much in the background. Hope you enjoy! 


Alberta, abandoned

abandoned, alberta

Abandoned, Alberta




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