Historic Sites of Manitoba: Manitoba Pool Grain Elevator (Helston, Municipality of Glenella-Lansdowne)

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

A grain elevator at Helston, in what is now the Municipality of Glenella-Lansdowne, was built in 1905 by the Western Canada Flour Mills on the Muir-Helston Branch of the Canadian Northern Railway. In May 1940, the building was sold to Manitoba Pool Elevators for $5,000 and, in August 1940, re-sold for $6,650 to farmers belonging to the Helson Co-operative Elevator Association No. 160. The original structure, capable of holding 25,000 bushels of grain, was demolished during the summer of 1946 and replaced with the present 40,000-bushel structure. By the mid-1950s, the elevator was full before the entire crop had been delivered so plans were made to construct a 54,000-bushel crib annex during the winter of 1956-1957. During the 1974-1975 crop year, the facility handled 209,632 bushels.

The elevator closed in December 1978 when the adjacent railway line was abandoned. It was used for a time to store corn. By the time of a 2012 site visit, the building stood vacant and open to the elements. The road to it was heavily overgrown so it was only accessible by foot. As of 2021, the site is reportedly being used as a private residence.

Agents / Buyers

Period	Agent / Buyer
1905-1927	?
1927-1962	Grover Lobb (1893-1965)
1962-1973	W. George Gardiner
1973	Clare Galoway
1974-1975	Harry Wiebe
1975-1977	Keith R. Wallace
1977	Robert Voth
1977-1978	Kenneth Bird

Photos & Coordinates

The former Manitoba Pool grain elevator at Helston (September 2001) Source: Mike Lisowski The former Manitoba Pool grain elevator at Helston (July 2012) Source: Gordon Goldsborough The former Manitoba Pool grain elevator and annex at Helston (August 2014) Source: Jean McManus Interior of the former Manitoba Pool grain elevator at Helston (July 2012) Source: Gordon Goldsborough Aerial view of the former Manitoba Pool grain elevator at Helston (February 2021) Source: George Penner Helston Grain Elevator (April 2021) Source: Rose Kuzina Site Coordinates (lat/long): N50.13216, W99.11679 denoted by symbol on the map above

Sources:

Obituary [Grover Lobb], Winnipeg Free Press, 30 January 1965, page 32.

Legacies of Lansdowne: A Sequel by RM of Lansdowne History Committee, 1984, page 48. [Legislative Library of Manitoba, F5648.L36 Leg]

Helston Cooperative Elevator Association, Manitoba Pool Elevators Fonds, RG 4, S. J. McKee Archives.

We thank Mike Lisowski, Jean McManus, Rose Kuzina, and George Penner for providing additional information used here.

This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.

Page revised: 13 January 2022

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