Mossleigh grain elevators

These old, wooden grrain elevators are two out of the three that still stand at Mossleigh, SE of Calgary. The third is just off to the left of my photo. They were seen on 14 April 2014, when my youngest daughter and I spent the day driving some of the backroads SE of Calgary.

From Alberta Prime Time - Talk of the Town: Mossleigh Grain Elevator Trio. Original Air Date: Thursday, April 05, 2012:

"A farm family in the Mossleigh area of Southern Alberta is doing all it can to keep their local grain elevators towering over the prairies.

Eric Donovan and his cousin purchased two of the three aging structures when the original owner had no more use for them. Now they're being restored to working condition."

Link to an interesting article from Vulcanadvocate.com, from March 2012:

www.vulcanadvocate.com/2012/03/26/mossleigh-area-resident...

"There were 1,651 elevators in Alberta in 1951, but by 1982 a total of 979 elevators remained. The 1990s spelled the death of the wooden “country” or “primary” elevator. At the end of the 1990s, as the full impact of both of the ending of the Crow Rate in 1995 and further impending rail abandonment was felt, the pace of demolition accelerated at an unprecedented rate. At the end of the 1996-1997 crop year, there were only 327 elevators left. Alberta’s largest cooperative grain companies, the Alberta Wheat Pool (which amalgamated with Manitoba Pool Elevators in 1998 as Agricore) and United Grain Growers, ultimately formed a new corporate entity known as Agricore United in 2001, issuing issued public shares. Demolition of country elevators has continued, and in 2005 there were only 156 wooden elevators of any kind still standing, only a handful of which are used by the grain trade.

The Government of Alberta has recognised the significance of the traditional wood grain elevators, and has designated 12 as Provincial Historic Resources. They are located in the following communities: Andrew, Castor, Leduc, Meeting Creek, Paradise Valley, Radway, Rowley (3 elevators), Scandia and St. Albert (2 elevators)."

www.grainelevatorsalberta.ca/articles/HRM-history.pdf