Manitoba Business: Lake of the Woods Milling Company

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Presidents | Western Managers | Country Elevators | Sources

In May 1887, a group of Montreal-based investors affiliated with the Canadian Pacific Railway incorporated the Lake of the Woods Milling Company. Between 1887 and 1888, the firm constructed a large mill at Keewatin, Ontario [now Kenora] to process prairie-grown wheat into the Five Roses brand of flour. They established other mills at Portage la Prairie (Manitoba), Medicine Hat (Alberta), and Brantford (Ontario), as well as an extensive network of country elevators across western Canada, and an administrative office in Winnipeg.

In November 1954, most of the company’s assets were purchased by one of its competitors, the Ogilvie Flour Mills Company. The mill at Keewatin was destroyed by fire in the 1960s and not rebuilt.

Some corporate records are held at the University of Manitoba Archives & Special Collections.

Presidents

Period	President
1887-1888	Alexander Mitchell
1888-1892	?
1892-1911	Robert Meighen (1869-1911)
1911-1931	Frank S. Meighen
1931-1954	?

Vice-Presidents

Period	Vice-President
1887-?	John Mather (1827-1907)
?-1954	?

Western Sales Managers (Winnipeg)

Period	Western Manager
1887-1889	?
1889-1906	Samuel Alexander McGaw (1848-1916)
1906-1913	George V. Hastings
1913-1922	William A. Matheson (1859-1939)
1922-1932	Nixon John Breen (1872-1954)
1932-1941	?
1941-1947	George Heatly Booth (c1886-1947)
1947-1954	?

General Superintendents

Period	General Superintendent
1887-1912	George Henry Kelly (1860-1940)
1912-1954	?

Secretaries

Period	Secretary
1889-1919	Francis Edward Bray (1858-1919)

Country Elevators (Manitoba)

Location	No.	Rail	Built	1959 Capacity (bushels)	Comments
Altona		CPR	1951	76,500	Sold to Ogilvie (November 1954)
Amaranth		CNR	1917	-	Built by Harper Construction Company; demolished (13 June 1936); salvaged parts shipped to Wapella [Saskatchewan] to build new elevator
Arden		CPR	1895	35,000	Sold to Ogilvie (November 1954)
Beausejour		CPR	1912	50,000	Annex (1954); sold to Ogilvie (November 1954)
Bede		CPR	?	-	Burned (23 October 1922)
Boissevain		CPR	1895	35,000	Annex (1942); sold to Ogilvie (November 1954)
Brookdale		CPR	1902	-	Demolished (5 May 1950)
Cameron		CPR	1902	42,000	Sold to Ogilvie (November 1954)
Carman		CNR	1895	?	Demolished (November 1934); lumber used to build new elevator at Beausejour (?)
		CPR	?	?
Carroll		CPR	1919	20,300	Sold to Ogilvie (November 1954)
Clandeboye		CPR	1916	40,000	Sold to Ogilvie (November 1954)
Dalny		CPR	1903	42,500	Annex (1941); sold to Ogilvie (November 1954)
Dauphin		CNR	1899	65,000	Sold to Ogilvie (November 1954)
Deleau		CPR	?	?	Demolished (1924)
Dominion City		CPR	1895	26,000	Rebuilt (1923); annex (1941); sold to Ogilvie (November 1954)
Douglas		CPR	1892	40,000	Sold to Ogilvie (November 1954), sold to Manitoba Pool (1959)
East Selkirk		CPR	1912	-	Destroyed by fire and rebuilt (1922); sold to Searle Grain (July 1938)
Elkhorn		CPR	1892	30,000	Sold to Ogilvie (November 1954)
Elva		CPR	1897	23,500	Sold to Ogilvie (November 1954)
Emerson		CPR	?	?	Burned (25 May 1928)
Eriksdale		?	1917	-	Built by Harper Construction Company; demolished (20 June 1934); lumber reused to build elevator at Whitewood [Saskatchewan] (June-July 1934)
Ewart		CPR	1905	-	Demolished (August-September 1949)
Forrest		CPR	1897	30,000	Sold to Ogilvie (November 1954)
Giroux		CNR	1899	-	Demolished (November 1934); lumber used to construct annex at Beausejour (?)
Goodlands		CPR	1902	32,000	Annex (1941); sold to Ogilvie (November 1954)
Gretna		CPR	1888	17,000	Annex (1942); sold to Ogilvie (November 1954)
Griswold		CPR	1889	35,000	Sold to Ogilvie (November 1954), sold to UGG (1960)
Harmsworth		CPR	1910	30,000	Sold to Ogilvie (November 1954)
Hartney		CNR	?	-	Demolished (1924)
		CPR	?
Holland		CPR	1888	-	Closed (1941), demolished (summer 1947)
Kenton		CPR	1902	32,000	Sold to Ogilvie (November 1954)
Killarney		CPR	1900	?	Sold to UGG (31 July 1952)
Landseer		CPR	1903	45,000	Sold to Ogilvie (November 1954)
Lauder		CPR	1897	22,000	Sold to Ogilvie (November 1954)
MacGregor		CPR	1897	30,000	Burned (1928) and rebuilt same year; annex (1942); sold to Ogilvie (November 1954)
Manitou		CPR	?	-	Burned (16 August 1929)
Medora		CPR	?	-	Sold to UGG (11 July 1928)
Melita		CPR	1892	38,000	Annex (1942); sold to Ogilvie (November 1954)
Methven		CPR	1890	27,000	Sold to Ogilvie (November 1954)
Miniota		CPR	1910	35,000	Bought from Federal Grain (1944), sold to Ogilvie (November 1954)
Moore Park		CPR	1905	25,500	Sold to Ogilvie (November 1954)
Morden		CPR	1895	36,000	Annex (1941); sold to Ogilvie (November 1954)
Naples		CPR	1903	-	Destroyed by fire (16 September 1937)
Neepawa		CPR	?	-	Demolished (1924)
Newdale		CPR	1924	34,000	Replaced flat warehouse (before 1900); annex (1941); sold to Ogilvie (November 1954)
Ninga		CPR	1892	35,000	Annex (1941); sold to Ogilvie (November 1954)
Plum Coulee		CPR	1888	25,000	Annex (1941); sold to Ogilvie (November 1954)
Portage la Prairie		CPR	?	60,000	Annex (1959); sold to Ogilvie (November 1954)
Regent	206	CPR	1913	-	Built by the Matheson Grain Company (1913), sold to Lake of the Woods Milling (1918), destroyed by fire (13 August 1944)
Reston		CPR	1895	-	Destroyed by fire (15 July 1950)
Rosenfeld		CPR	1903	35,000	Built by Imperial Grain Company; bought (1918); demolished (1937) and replaced with modern elevator; annex (1941); sold to Ogilvie (November 1954)
Rossendale		CNR	?	-	Destroyed by fire (7 April 1931)
Russell		CPR	1904	?	Closed (1 February 1951)
Snowflake		CPR	1906	16,000	Annex (1942); sold to Ogilvie (November 1954)
Souris		CPR	1891	30,000	Sold to Ogilvie (November 1954)
Thornhill		CPR	1888	18,000	New annex (1942); sold to Ogilvie (November 1954)
Tilston		CPR	1907	35,000	Extensive repairs (1927); annex (1953); sold to Ogilvie (November 1954)
Treesbank		CPR	1892	36,000	Sold to Manitoba Pool (1950)
Tyndall		CPR	1918	35,000	Sold to Ogilvie (November 1954)
Virden		CNR	1889	-	Demolished (1937)
Waskada		CPR	1902	33,000	Extensive repairs (1927); annex (1941); sold to Ogilvie (November 1954)
Whitemouth		CPR	1917	-	Flat warehouse bought from ?? (1917) and rebuilt as elevator, sold to Northwest Commission Company (September 1927), demolished (fall 1934), lumber used for annex at Beausejour (1934)
Whitewater		CPR	?	-	Sold to Northwest Commission Company (September 1927)
Willen		CPR	1914	30,000	Built by Matheson Grain Company; bought (1918); office destroyed by fire (8 January 1955); sold to Ogilvie (November 1954)
Winkler		CPR	1895	35,000	Sold to Ogilvie (November 1954)

See also:

Historic Sites of Manitoba: Lake of the Woods Building (212 McDermot Avenue, Winnipeg)

Historic Sites of Manitoba: Sunset Manufacturing Warehouse (655 Logan Avenue, Winnipeg)

Sources:

“The Keewatin mill,” Manitoba Free Press, 21 November 1888, page 1.

“Robert Meighen here,” Winnipeg Tribune, 5 May 1893, page 4.

“Robert Meighen, President of Lake of Woods Milling Co. passes suddenly away,” Winnipeg Tribune, 13 July 1911, page 1.

“George V. Hastings about to retire,” Winnipeg Tribune, 29 May 1913, page 6.

Record of Country Elevator Receipts, Expenses 1922-23 to and including 1955-156, Lake of the Woods Milling Company Limited, University of Manitoba Archives & Special Collections, Ogilvie Flour Mills fonds, MSS120-L-128.

Ogilvie - Lake of the Woods Purchase, File 7, RG 4, Manitoba Pool Elevators fonds, Series B, Central Office Records, B.14, Acquisitions, Box 1: 1937-1977, S. J. McKee Archives.

We thank Janice McClelland for providing additional information used here.

This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.

Page revised: 18 October 2022