Built in 1945 for farmer Ernest William Hoffman (1892-1972) as a make-work project for Japanese detainees sent inland from British Columbia during the Second World War, this small grain elevator and grist mill near Brunkild in the Rural Municipality of Macdonald featured a plaque written in Japanese that gave Hoffman’s initials and the symbol for “prosperity.” After sitting unused for many years, the building was sold around 1969. The new owner covered it with asphalt shingles, removed its leg, and filled the pit with concrete. Some interior wooden walls and floors were removed so much of the first two floors could used as a granary. The plaque was given to Hoffman’s descendants. Some of the mill machinery near the top of the now-unused structure was still intact at the time of a 2018 site visit.
Aerial view of the Hoffman family farm including the grain elevator and mill at the centre rear (no date)
Source: Memories & Melodies: The History of Brunkild, 1871-1980 by Brunkild History Book Committee, 2003.
Hoffman family grain elevator and mill (September 2015)
Source: Jean McManus
Hoffman family grain elevator and mill (October 2018)
Source: Gordon Goldsborough
Aerial view of the Hoffman family grain elevator and mill (June 2020)
Source: George Penner
Hoffman family grain elevator and mill (November 2024)
Source: Milan Lukes
Hoffman family grain elevator and mill (November 2024)
Source: Milan Lukes
Interior of the Hoffman family grain elevator and mill (October 2018)
Source: Gordon Goldsborough
Grist mill machinery inside the Hoffman family grain elevator and mill (October 2018)
Source: Bruce LaudinSite Coordinates (lat/long): N49.60638, W97.52673
denoted by symbol on the map above
See also:
Historic Sites of Manitoba: Abandoned Manitoba
Obituary [Ernest Hoffman], Winnipeg Free Press, 29 July 1972, page 33.
Memories & Melodies: The History of Brunkild, 1871-1980 by Brunkild History Book Committee, 2003. [Legislative Library of Manitoba, F5649.B78 Bru]
Obituaries and burial transcriptions, Manitoba Genealogical Society.
We thank Bruce Laudin, Jean McManus, George Penner, and Milan Lukes for providing information used here.
This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.
Page revised: 17 November 2024
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