Historic Sites of Manitoba: Echo Milling Flour Mill / United Grain Growers Grain Elevator (Gladstone, Municipality of WestLake-Gladstone)

Link to:
Agents / Buyers | Photos & Coordinates | Sources

A concrete grain elevator and mill in Gladstone, on the CPR Minnedosa Subdivision in what is now the Municipality of WestLake-Gladstone, was built in 1918 by the Echo Flour Mills Company, replacing a previous grain elevator and mill at the site destroyed by fire in April 1917. The mill portion of the rebuilt facility, on the west end, was destroyed by a fire on 28 November 1919 but the grain elevator on the east end was left intact.

The former mill building was used as a creamery until 1974 while the elevator was leased for grain storage successively by N. M. Paterson & Company (1920-1926), Manitoba Pool Elevators (1926-1932), and United Grain Growers (1932-1940). In July 1940, UGG purchased the elevator building from Echo Flour Mills. The facility closed in May 1997 and, in October 1999, the driveways and sheds were removed. The elevator was removed later, becoming the first concrete country elevator in Manitoba to be demolished.

Agents / Buyers

Period	Agent / Buyer
1920-1926	Gordon Lee (1865-1942)
1926-?	Peter Lee
?-1932	?
1932-1940	John Albert “Jack” Chittick (1889-1973)
1940-1967	Howard Gilbert Kerr (1901-1970)
1967-1973	Ronald Wayne “Ron” Crooks (1945-2008)
1973-1989	Peter Onufriechuk
1989-1996	Jim Carrothers

Photos & Coordinates

The former United Grain Growers grain elevator at Gladstone in the background, with the Gladstone Creamery in the foreground, all of which were at one time part of a flour mill (1968) Source: Agricore United Engineering Department, Tom Price (Mgr), provided by Glenn Dickson (University of Manitoba Archives & Special Collections) The former United Grain Growers grain elevator at Gladstone (1969) Source: Agricore United Engineering Department, Tom Price (Mgr), provided by Glenn Dickson (University of Manitoba Archives & Special Collections) The former United Grain Growers grain elevator at Gladstone (1981) Source: Agricore United Engineering Department, Tom Price (Mgr), provided by Glenn Dickson (University of Manitoba Archives & Special Collections) The former United Grain Growers grain elevator at Gladstone (July 1983) by Lawrence Stuckey Source: Lawrence Stuckey Collection, S. J. McKee Archives, Brandon University, 1-2002.3.3.CNR[172b] The former United Grain Growers grain elevator at Gladstone (1999) Source: Mike Lisowski Site Coordinates (lat/long): N50.22490, W98.94665 denoted by symbol on the map above

See also:

Historic Sites of Manitoba: Manitoba Pool Grain Elevator / Delmar Commodities Grain Elevator (Gladstone, Municipality of WestLake-Gladstone)

Sources:

“Fire destroys mill and grain elevator,” Winnipeg Tribune, 2 April 1917, page 3.

“Broken board causes death of Goodman,” Winnipeg Tribune, 23 April 1918, page 7.

“Defective plank caused death,” Manitoba Free Press, 23 April 1918, page 3.

“Echo Flour Mills gutted by fire,” Gladstone Age, 4 December 1919, page 1.

“Farmers attention,” Gladstone Age, 19 August 1920, page 2.

“The most for your grain,” Gladstone Age, 9 August 1923, page 1.

“Please be advised that the N. M. Paterson & Co. Ltd.,” Gladstone Age, 12 August 1926, page 4.

“Gladstone Cooperative Elevator Association Limited Pool Elevator,” Gladstone Age, 26 August 1926, page 2.

“Good service counts,” Gladstone Age Press, 17 September 1936, page 1.

Obituary [Gordon Lee], Gladstone Age Press, 28 May 1942, page 1.

“Gladstone Creamery closes doors May 31,” Gladstone Age, 5 June 1974, page 1.

Gladstone, Box 59, MSS 76, United Grain Growers Fonds, University of Manitoba Archives & Special Collections.

Gladstone Then and Now: 1871-2001 by Gladstone History Book Committee, 2001. [Manitoba Legislative Library, F5649.G53 Gla]

Digital orthophotographs, Manitoba Land Initiative, Government of Manitoba.

We thank Glenn Dickson, Mike Lisowski, and Kevin Mason for providing additional information used here.

This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.

Page revised: 3 May 2021

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