The Manitoba Historical Society released its top 10 list of endangered structures
Grain elevators in the RM of Brenda-Waskada are considered some of the top 10 endangered structures in all of Manitoba.
The Manitoba Historical Society on June 23 published its annual list of “historically significant buildings around our province that deserve to be preserved and better known.”
The Ogilvie and Manitoba Pool grain elevators in Napkina, Man., are among them.
“Two wooden elevators at Napinka date from the “glory days” of wooden elevators in the 1920s,” the organization says. “The older was built around 1923 for the Ogilvie Milling Company. Some four years later, a local association of farmers asked Manitoba Pool Elevators to construct an elevator on their behalf. When Ogilvie was taken over by Pool in 1959, the two structures were redesignated as “A” (the slightly newer Pool elevator) and “B” (the original Ogilvie).”
Both grain elevators remained in service until1984 when local farmers purchased them for private storage. Both elevators were in use until 2000.
It appears these structures could be demolished.
On March 8, 2025, James Gerlock posted in the “Prairie Sentinels of the Past” Facebook page that he spoke with a demolition company involved in this work.
“I’m talking with the demolition company Monday, and going to save what can be saved,” he wrote on the Saturday. “Again, if they want to leave it stand(ing), they’d have to fence it, lock it up, and see it from the distance, but it’s not financially viable.”
Other community members want the elevators preserved too.
Lucy Falco started a petition last year to raise awareness about their possible demolition.
“This news is causing great anxiety and anger across Canada amongst those of us who care deeply about prairie history and heritage,” the petition says. “Grain elevators are the beacons of the prairies. They are a testament to our ancestors’ hard work and settlement of the land. They teach us about our past and tell a story of the prairie’s contribution to our country.”
Other structures on the Manitoba Historical Society’s endangered list for 2026 include:
- Kenton Presbyterian Church in the RM of Wallace-Woodworth
- Ukrainian National Home in the Municipality of Rossburn
- “The Wall” art installation at Portage Ave. and Main Street in Winnipeg
- Upper Fort Garry Gate in Winnipeg