Ogilvie No. 156 | Initiative launched to move and restore elevator
Wooden grain elevators, once the primary landmarks across much of the Prairies, are gradually disappearing.
Two southern Alberta men want to keep one of them from falling to the wrecking ball.
Jason Sailer and Cody Kapcsos have formed the Southern Alberta Grain Elevator Society (SAGE) and want to move the Ogilvie No. 156 elevator to the Galt Historic Railway Park near Stirling, Alta. It now sits on the Canadian Pacific Railway line at Wrentham, Alta., 29 kilometres away.
At the railway park, it would sit near the Coutts Sweetgrass Train Station, restored to its early condition and made available for viewing and tours.
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“We’re just trying to save a little bit of history,” Sailer said March 17, noting the risks of losing older buildings and architecture.
“When the time comes, nobody stands up. We thought maybe we should try saving this before it gets to that last minute stage.”
Sailer and Kapcsos estimate the project will cost $250,000, including the move of the elevator and its auxiliary buildings plus renovation and restoration.
The elevator, which was built in 1925, is in working condition and provides 32,000 bushels of grain storage for Harold Kuehn, the current owner.
However, Sailer and Kapcsos said Kuehn plans to retire from farming and will donate the elevator to the railway park if fundraising efforts are successful.
“At one time there were nearly 1,555 elevators in Alberta alone,” said Kapcsos. “Now we’re down to about 120 and that number is dwindling drastically year by year. By saving one, we’ll at least have a bit of our agricultural heritage saved.”
Ogilvie No. 156 was built by Ogilvie Flour Mills Co., which operated it until 1960, when it was sold to Alberta Wheat Pool. AWP ran it until 1968, when it was sold to Wesley Kuehn of Skiff, Alta. His son now owns it.
Sailer said Alberta Culture has identified several unique features of the elevator, including a historically intact office, one of only two boxed walkways left on Alberta elevators and a fully operating rope drive system.
Sailer and Kapcsos plan to build a spur line to the elevator once it is at its new site to allow for future displays of railroad equipment.
The elevator will require a new concrete foundation and a new roof and siding.
Sailer said SAGE memberships will help the cause, but the group will also be looking for corporate donations and grant opportunities.
