It one could count these twins as two, then it could be said that Nanton has managed to cling to three elevators, as there's also a Pioneer elevator, still standing here.
Actually the elevator's "twin" was once a grain elevator in its own right. The main elevator, on the north, was built by Alberta Wheat Pool Elevators, a subsidiary of Alberta Wheat Pool, in 1927. Its twin was built at Strangmuir, a small community about 65 km (40 mi) northeast of Nanton, likely earlier than this Pool Elevator. By 1936 it was in poor shape and, in order to increase capacity in Nanton's Pool Elevator, it was moved to its present location immediately south of the Nanton elevator. Restored to usable condition, it served as an annex until the elevators were closed sometime in the 1980s.
Both are standard wood-cribbed elevators, the design of which remained unchanged for many decades. In the late 1970s a new design, the
, was introduced, but few were built because, by the 1990s, the industry was turning toward larger terminal style elevators, spaced further apart.
When built, all Alberta Wheat Pool elevators were painted a rather drab reddish brown. Then, beginning in 1972, all Pool elevators still in operation were repainted in the present light blue/teal colour seen today. One may still find the odd old Alberta Wheat Pool still painted in the old colour, ones which had already been decommissioned by 1972.
Alberta Wheat Pool Grain Elevator
Description of Historic Place
The Alberta Wheat Pool Grain Elevator in Nanton is a twinned wood-cribbed grain elevator. The two elevators are situated side-by-side and are nearly identical in appearance. Both have the tall, slope-shouldered form typical of grain elevators. A shed-roofed driveway and dust removal equipment are attached to the east side of the elevator and a detached office is located a few feet away. The, equipment and office are all painted in the light blue/teal colour scheme characteristic of Alberta Wheat Pool elevators after 1972. The grain elevator is located alongside the former railway right-of-way on the east side of the Town of Nanton.
Heritage Value
The Alberta Wheat Pool Grain Elevator in Nanton is significant as an example of a rare twinned grain elevator; for its role in the economic and social economies of rural Alberta; for its iconic and symbolic status; and for its association with the Alberta Wheat Pool.
The Alberta Wheat Pool grain elevator in Nanton is an excellent example of a twinned grain elevator. Alberta Wheat Pool built a grain elevator in Nanton in 1927 and, in 1936, salvaged a wrecked elevator at Strangmuir and re-erected it alongside the one in Nanton. Both are standard wood-cribbed elevators. A shed-roofed driveway containing the weigh scale is attached to the elevator’s east side and a small office is located slightly to the east. This rare variation of grain elevator allowed grain elevator companies to substantially increase capacity at certain sites while maintaining a small footprint and avoiding the expense of building a new grain elevator.
Like all grain elevators, the Alberta Wheat Pool grain elevator in Nanton filled an essential economic and social role in the community. Farmers would deliver their grain to the elevator for eventual transport by rail to markets. Due to the large number of farmers needing to use grain elevators to conduct their business, these sites became places for farmers from the district to meet and discuss events; agricultural issues; common concerns such as weather and soil conditions, crop problems, wheat prices, freight rates, and politics; or to simply socialize. While most socialization likely moved to other nearby venues in the community, grain elevators played an important role in day-to-day social activities and a transition point between the town and its surrounding rural district.
Although the Nanton Alberta Wheat Pool grain elevator, being a twinned elevator, does not have the classic, grain elevator silhouette, it is still representative of the iconic symbolism grain elevators have across the Prairies. These structures represent the region’s economic and social connections to agricultural life and their vertical orientation provides a striking contrast to the flat horizons of western landscape. At one point there were thousands of these grain elevators across western Canada with nearly all railway communities boasting at least one, but usually multiple grain elevators. These elevator rows were highly noticeable and marked a community’s location; they also had a wall-like presence that defined communities’ physical boundaries, often defining either the edge of town or physically separating a community’s business and residential areas from the rougher, industrial areas. Wood-cribbed grain elevators began to be decommissioned and demolished through the 1980s and 1990s, and their disappearance from the landscape reinforced concerns being had by agricultural producers, such as the rise of agri-business and the decline of the family farm and accompanying changes in the rural way-of-life.
The twinned elevator in Nanton was built by Alberta Pool Elevators, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Alberta Wheat Pool, which was a significant farmer-owned, co-operative company. The Alberta Wheat Pool aimed to even out the vagaries of world grain prices following the end of the First World War by marketing members’ grain produce and providing a fair and reasonable price to its producer members from the revenues generated. The pools were popular with many farmers who preferred them to the private companies, which had reputations of sharp practises. The Alberta Wheat Pool was the first of the three Prairie Provinces’ wheat pools and it grew to be Alberta’s largest grain marketing company and Canada’s second largest co-operative wheat pool. The elevator was originally painted reddish-brown, but ended its active life in the characteristic teal green used on Alberta Wheat Pool grain elevators in the latter decades of the twentieth century.
Character-Defining Elements
Key elements that define the heritage value of the Alberta Wheat Pool Grain Elevator, Nanton include its:
Grain Elevator, driveway and office
Wood cribbed construction;
Iconic profile formed by the vertical orientation of the two elevator towers, both with shed roofs and gable-roofed cupolas;
Shed roofed driveway attached to the east side of the elevator, accessed by concrete and earth ramps with metal rails and sliding doors;
Small, detached, gable roofed office located slightly to the east of the driveway;
Wooden siding material on the elevator, driveway and office;
Cyclone dust removal equipment attached to the east side of the elevator;
Typical, post-1970s Alberta Wheat Pool teal green colour scheme;
Town name (NANTON) painted on the east and north sides of the northernmost tower and the west side of the southernmost tower;
Signage visible on the west side of the northernmost elevator showing both Alberta Pool Elevators Co. and Alberta Wheat Pool Elevators names;
Extant exterior augers with metal access stairs on the track side of the elevator
Augers linking the two towers;
Small trackside loading areas with sliding doors on both towers;
Minimal overall fenestration pattern;
Presence of grain distribution machinery in the elevator and driveway, including scale, pulleys, drive belts, scale, delivery bin, leg with cups, gerber spouts, hopper and bins for grain storage.
General and Landscape
Location alongside the now abandoned Canadian Pacific Railway (Calgary and Edmonton Railway) line and yard on the east side of the town;
Remnants of the rail siding and other concrete footings and equipment on the track side of the elevator.
From the Alberta Register of Historic Places