Ogilvie Wooden Grain Elevator Society

05/14/2026

Thanks for sharing! Give Off the Beaten Path with Chris & Connie - BIGDoer.com a follow if you haven't. They do amazing work.

What a difference 25 years makes - Before & After in Wrentham Alberta. ➡️➡️

The original photo comes from a friend (thank you Allan), and shows a scene in that little southern Alberta community back in 1995. Not that long ago, really.

The three furthest elevators, at the time, were all properties of the Alberta Wheat Pool and wear company colours. They date variously from the 1920s to the 1960s period. Now only one of the trio remains (the furthest one and the newest). On our visit it was privately owned and used for grain storage. The two in the middle were gone by about the year 2000.

The silver elevator (covered in fire mitigating metal sheathing) also once belonged to the Pool, but only briefly. It was built for Ogilvie Flour Mills in the mid-1920s.

The Alberta Pool bought out Ogilvie’s modest network of rural grain elevators in 1960 and closed most of them soon after. This one lasted into 1968, with the Pool then selling it to a local farmer. Old elevators could be had for a song and made fine offsite grain storage facilities. It's the reason many survived after commercial use.

Used well into the 2010s,, it was then acquired by a group working to preserve the historic structure, the Ogilvie Wooden Grain Elevator Society. Go here: https://www.facebook.com/OWGES/ It's the last wood elevator belonging to that company left standing in Alberta.

Our shot is from 2020, but the scene today in Wrentham is much the same.

It's possible the van seen in the distance in the original photo (bottom right), belonged to the photographer. The Mighty BIGDoer-mobile is parked in almost in the same location and that's completely by chance. We didn’t even notice the coincidence until processing the images.

There's been much change in Wrentham, as there has been in countless small prairie towns, and yet the scene here remains almost timeless.

Check the comments for a bonus photo of the Ogilvie.

📸 The then photo is thanks to our friend Allan Brooker.
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Greetings from Chris & Connie!
Unique content from BIGDoer.com - since 2012!

01/08/2026

From our friends at Off the Beaten Path with Chris & Connie - BIGDoer.com ! The grain elevators from Beynon, AB, that were featured in the 1978 Superman Movie!

Movie Then & Now - Superman 1978 (reverse view). More👇

The location is overlooking the little community of Beynon Alberta (location is private land). The whole thing was a set and the cemetery was not real. It's a stunning place and it's easy to see why the movie producers picked it.

Our shot was on a dreadfully smoky day, brought on by forest fires in BC and the western US.

In the movie capture, we see a young Clark Kent (don't tell anyone, but he's Superman - played by Jeffrey East) and Martha "Ma" Kent (Phyllis Thaxter) at the grave of recently deceased Jonathan "Pa" Kent.

The white grain elevator still exists today at a nearby farm and can be seen in the comments. The annex was also moved to another farm, but it was demolished recently.

Read more about the scene: https://www.bigdoer.com/61217/then-and-now/superman-1978-cemetery-scenes/ Brought to you by Byron Robb - thanks for all your help!
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Greetings from Chris & Connie!
Unique content from BIGDoer.com - since 2012!

01/05/2026

Membership renewal is on, so if you want a membership to our Society, please download the form, fill it out, and send it to us.

We have CHARITABLE STATUS, so we can issue tax receipts for donations! Please message us if you have any questions about this! 🙂

Thank you!

01/01/2026

An aerial view of the grain elevator row in Warner, AB, from the 1960s. The grain elevator at the bottom of the image is at the north end of the row. The second elevator from the top of the image was originally an Ogilvie Flour elevator, which was sold to Alberta Wheat Pool in 1958 or so.

Galt Museum & Archive photograph 19760237101

12/27/2025

A CBC article about the Sharples grain elevator pending demolition, with an interview with DanOCan.com .

CBC Calgary

https://r.pebmac.ca/Another prairie grain elevator... https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/sharples-grain-elevator-9.7018377

12/26/2025

Grains Connect Canada is being bought out by Parrish & Heimbecker.

https://r.pebmac.ca/https://www.producer.com/crops/parrish-heimbecker-to-buy-grainsconnect-canada/

12/25/2025

The Board of Directors would like to extend best wishes for a wonderful Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Thank you for your past support of our project, it is greatly appreciated. We look forward to making more progress in 2026.

11/13/2025

From our friends at Off the Beaten Path with Chris & Connie - BIGDoer.com

Keeping that Three Hills Alberta theme - our very last photo of the pair. More 👇.

We've heard from local contacts and they tell us the disused Parrish & Heimbecker grain elevator to the right is being demolished as we speak. Our shot is from a numbingly cold morning in February 2022 and in searching records, it's the last image we captured here.

There were once many other grain elevators in Three Hills and they were arranged in two parallel rows on opposite sides of the main track. CN's line into Calgary runs right through the middle. This is odd and usually the entire row is grouped on one side or the other. In this case, most were on the downtown (P&H) side.

The left elevator is a relative youngster from 1967 and the one being demolished, dates from 1919. While it's sad to see, I suppose we have to begrudgingly accept that not everything is forever. But, we're glad we had the chance to document both over the years. Share your photos if you have them!

Thanks for stopping by our little corner of the internet and if you like what you see, make some noise in the comments.
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Greetings from Chris & Connie!
Unique content from BIGDoer.com - since 2012!

11/13/2025

A local area veteran. Thank you for your service!

11/07/2025

Another sad fate for our fellow Ogilvie elevator in Napinka, Manitoba. Both are said to be demolished sometime this year, as well the Manitoba Pool elevator in Austin is said to be coming down soon too!

From what I understand the two historical grain elevators in Napinka are slated for demolition this spring. Did you know that Elevator B in Napinka started as an Ogilvie Flour elevator? It was later taken over by Manitoba Pool Elevators in 1959 and renamed "Pool B". Like its twin, Elevator A, it was closed and sold in 1984. Once a bustling grain hub, this elevator now stands as a symbol of the past.

I took this shot a while ago. The elevator is a stunner. Chime in if you have any additional information on this. Chasing yesterday in Napinka, Manitoba.