Manitoba Business: Wiley and Company / Wiley Low and Company

In December 1908, the firm of Wiley and Company was established by businessman John Moses Wiley along with lawyer Thomas Llewellyn Metcalfe, lawyer Lorne John Elliott, and accountant William J. Smith. Initially focused on “real and personal property,” the company soon moved into the buying and selling of grain.

It became Wiley Low and Company around 1915-1916 when William Thomas Low became a partner. Around this time, it bought its first four grain elevators, at Gladstone, Kelloe, Golden Stream, and Mayfield. The company expanded its holdings to nine elevators, four of them in Manitoba, in time for the 1916-1917 season. In the next few years, Wiley Low continued its apparent strategy of picking up the occasional elevator from a variety of sources (e.g., 1 from Canadian, 1 from Maple Leaf, 3 from Midland, 3 from Farmers companies, 2 from Arthur Lobb, and some other small one-elevator operators) each year. However, it is noticeable that the strategy did not include buying other elevator companies, which had been a characteristic of many of the larger grain trade operations.

In mid-1932, the company sold most of its country elevators to Federal Grain and henceforth focused on stocks and bonds. In 1935, it took over the stock, bond, and grain business of McNichol Investments Limited.

In late 1957, the company was sold to Doherty Roadhouse and Company.

Presidents

Period	President
1908-1957	John Moses Wiley (1874-1961)

Vice-Presidents

Period	Vice-President
?-1957	John Harvie Wiley (1912-1975)

Secretary-Treasurers

Period	Secretary-Treasurer
c1930-1932	William Thomas Low (1881-1974)
1932-?	?
?-1957	Douglas Cameron Wiley (1914-1987)

General Managers

Period	General Manager
?-?	John McDonald (c1891-1973)

Country Elevators (Manitoba)

Location	Rail	Opened	Closed	Capacity (bushels)	Comments
Altamont	CNR	1926	1932	30,000	Bought from Elevator Commission (April 1926), sold to Federal Grain (1932)
Argyle	CNR	1923	1932	15,000	Bought from Arthur Lobb (1922), sold to Federal Grain (1932)
Berton/Helston	CNR	1918	1932	25,000	Sold to Federal Grain (1932)
Carroll	CPR	1927	1932	30,000	Bought from Elevator Commission (September 1927), sold to Federal Grain (1932)
Clearwater	CPR	1927	1932	30,000	Bought from Elevator Commission (September 1927), sold to Federal Grain (1932)
Darlingford	CPR	1919	1932	25,000	Sold to Federal Grain (1932)
Dunrea	CNR	1927	1927	22,000	Bought from Elevator Commission (September 1927), re-sold to UGG (1927?)
Elliott Siding	CNR	1927	1927	28,000	Bought from Elevator Commission (September 1927), re-sold to UGG (1927?)
Elphinstone	CNR	1928	1928	30,000
Fallison	CPR	1926	1932	30,000	Bought from Elevator Commission (April 1926), sold to Federal Grain (1932)
Gladstone	CPR	1915	1929	6,000
Golden Stream	CNR	1915	1932	12,000	Sold to Federal Grain (1932)
Grosse Isle	CNR	1920	1932	30,000	Sold to Federal Grain (1932)
Holmfield	CPR	1927	1932	30,000	Sold to Federal Grain (1932)
Kaleida	CPR	1919	1925	25,000
Kelloe	?	1915	?	25,000
La Riviere	CPR	1924	1932	30,000	Sold to Federal Grain (1932)
Langruth	CNR	1918	1932	8,000	Sold to Federal Grain (1932)
Lauder	CPR	1927	1932	50,000	Sold to Federal Grain (1932)
Linklater	CPR	1927	1932	32,000	Sold to Federal Grain (1932)
Mayfield	CNR	1915	1924	6,000
Miami	CNR	1921	1932	25,000	Sold to Federal Grain (1932)
Mowbray	CPR	1923	1932	25,000	Sold to Federal Grain (1932)
Myrtle	CNR	1926	1932	25,000	Sold to Federal Grain (1932)
Napinka	CPR	1926	1932	30,000	Sold to Federal Grain (1932)
Ninga	CPR	1926	1932	30,000	Sold to Federal Grain (1932)
Rea	CNR	1926	1930	30,000
Rivers	CNR	1926	1926	25,000
Shoal Lake	CPR	1916	1932	30,000	Leased from Elevator Commission (1916); sold to Federal Grain (1932)
Silver Plains	CNR	1919	1927	14,000
Snowflake	CPR	1924	1932	21,000	Sold to Federal Grain (1932)
Somerset	CNR	1920	1932	28,000
Stephenfield	CNR	1927	1932	30,000	Sold to Federal Grain (1932)
Stockton	CPR	1927	1932	30,000	Sold to Federal Grain (1932)
Strathclair	?	1916	1917	?	Bought from Elevator Commission (1916), sold to Export Elevator (1917), re-sold to C. G. Murphy (1918)
Swan Lake	CNR	1919	1932	25,000	Sold to Federal Grain (1932)
Warren	CNR	1923	1932	40,000	Sold to Federal Grain (1932)
Windygates	CPR	1923	1932	30,000	Sold to Federal Grain (1932)
Winnipeg	CPR	1935	1937	20,000	Sold to Federal Grain (1937)

Sources:

“Modern dairy for Winnipeg,” Manitoba Free Press, 14 December 1908, page 10.

“Announcement,” Shoal Lake Star, 4 August 1932, page 5.

“Wiley, Low takes over McNichol investments,” Winnipeg Tribune, 29 March 1935, page 18.

“Doherty Roadhouse & Co.,” Winnipeg Free Press, 5 December 1957, page 31.

This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough and John Everitt.

Page revised: 18 January 2025