The Union Grain Company was incorporated in December 1904, with capital stock of $50,000, and the object to buy and sell grain, produce, and general merchandise and to own and operate grain elevators and warehouses. Its initial directors were Archibald Dickson Chisholm, William Chambers (Winnipeg), banker James T. Reid (Treherne), and general merchant Arthur Thompson (Oak Lake) with offices in Winnipeg.
In the 1920s, the company came under the control of James Stewart. Daniel Campbell MacLachlan was President for some time in addition to having an involvement with the Stewart Grain Company, various of the ‘Western’ companies, and Maple Leaf Milling Company.
The Union Grain Company was a Grain Commission Merchant and Licensed Track Buyer in the 1920s, 1910s, and probably earlier (no data), and the bulk of its earliest elevators seem to have come in and after 1917, although Winnipeg had a 40,000-bushel elevator in 1912 (disappeared circa 1914). Several elevators were built in Manitoba between 1917 and 1922 although one was built in Ituna (Saskatchewan) in 1918 and one in Yorkton (Saskatchewan) in 1920.
The expansion then took place in Saskatchewan and seems to have come when Stewart was in control: 2 elevators built in 1922, 6 in 1924, 1 in 1925, 3 in 1926, 4 in 1927, and 3 in 1928. Most were on the Canadian Northern / Canadian National but this likely represents the growth areas of the time rather than an agreement with the railways. These various numbers/names represent additions to the stock; a few elevators were also sold during this period -- to a number of operators including the Manitoba Pool and Saskatchewan Pool, and smaller operators such as David Wood Limited, with the bulk (24 elevators) being merged into the Federal Grain Company in 1929.
Location
Rail
Started
Capacity
(bushels)Closed
Comments
Arborg
1917
10,000
1929
Basswood
1917
30,000
1929
Merged into Federal Grain (1929)
Durban
1920
35,000
1924
Inwood
1918
30,000
1918
Laurier
1918
30,000
1929
Merged into Federal Grain (1929)
McCreary
1917
30,000
1929
Merged into Federal Grain (1929)
Norgate
1918
25,000
1929
Merged into Federal Grain (1929)
Ochre River
1922
30,000
1929
Teulon
1917
35,000
1918
See also:
Memorable Manitobans: Archibald Dickson Chisholm (1857-1930)
“Added to Manitoba companies,” Manitoba Free Press, 20 December 1904, page 12.
This page was prepared by John Everitt and Gordon Goldsborough.
Page revised: 23 March 2024
