An icon of the prairies, the country grain elevator has been a symbol of agriculture, transportation, and prairie communities since the late nineteenth century. It is a landmark in the Canadian west. But closures, demolition, and rail-line abandonment have become the new reality for these rural structures.
Where there were once about 3,300 in Saskatchewan alone, by 2006, there were only 540. Their disappearance has not gone unnoticed. In 1999, the Saskatchewan Heritage Foundation commissioned a study and inventory of the remaining, operational wooden grain elevators in the province. At that date, approximately 800 grain elevators remained in operation in the province.
In 2005-06, the Foundation, with the Heritage Resources Branch, built on the earlier study and commissioned a second inventory, which includes modern inland terminals. This inventory will form a baseline for tracking the on-going demolition of grain elevators. It will be of interest to researchers, communities where elevators are still located, the media, and the general public, all of whom continue to have an interest in the fate of this unique architectural form. The study identified approximately 525 remaining historic wooden grain elevators, and an additional 70-75 modern terminals.
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