Alberta Wheat Pool Grain Elevator Site Complex

Leduc

Street Address:	5209 - 47 Street
Community:	Leduc
Boundaries:	Lot 1, Block 1, Descriptive Plan 1821848
Contributing Resources:	Buildings: 4

ATS Legal Description:

Mer	Rge	Twp	Sec	LSD
4	25	49	35	2 (ptn.)

PBL Legal Description (Cadastral Reference):

Plan	Block	Lot	Parcel
1821848	1	1

Latitude/Longitude:

Latitude	Longitude	CDT	Datum Type
53.266634	-113.546617	GPS	NAD 83

UTM Reference:

Northing	Easting	Zone	CDT	Datum Type

Recognition

Recognition Authority:	Province of Alberta
Designation Status:	Provincial Historic Resource
Date of Designation:	2003/01/20

Historical Information

Built:	1978 to 1978
Period of Significance:	N/A
Theme(s):	Developing Economies : Extraction and Production Developing Economies : Trade and Commerce
Historic Function(s):	Food Supply : Grain Elevator
Current Function(s):	Leisure : Museum
Architect:
Builder:
Context:	When Leduc was incorporated as a village in 1899, it was already the service centre for a large grain-growing district. When it became a town in 1906, it was the largest such centre on the Calgary & Edmonton (C & E) Railway between Strathcona and Wetaskiwin. At the time, grain buying in the community was done by the Brackman & Ker Company and the Alberta Grain Company, both private firms with elevators along a sidetrack paralleling the C & E line. In 1909, these companies were joined by the Alberta Pacific Grain (APG) Company. Such private companies then held a virtual monopoly over grain marketing in rural Alberta, to the growing displeasure of many farmers. With the farm population continuing to grow, however, farmers began to think about collective action. In 1909, Henry Wise Wood oversaw the formation of the United Farmers of Alberta (UFA), an organization devoted to mutual assistance, farm education and lobbying. By 1913, there was sufficient pressure to move the provincial government to initiate the establishment of the Alberta Co-operative Grain Company. With shares available only to the province's farmers, this company would soon amalgamate with the inter-provincial United Grain Growers. With World War One, the UFA continued to grow, and it eventually had locals in almost all grain growing areas of the province. In 1921, it was powerful enough to contest and win the provincial election. By this time, post World War One overproduction of grain was resulting in declining prices, and it was felt that the best way to break the grip of the large grain companies was by pooling the commodity. Spurred on by one Aaron Sapiro of California, who had helped organize the fruit growers of that state, the UFA was moved to create the Alberta Wheat Pool (AWP) in 1923, with Henry Wise Wood as its first President. Shortly thereafter, AWP elevators began to spring up throughout the province. Their chief attraction was that the grain of the members could be marketed directly without any entrepreneurial siphoning off of profits. It was also recognized that pooling would protect the farmers somewhat from the extreme fluctuations in grain prices. By the end of the 1920s, nearly half of the grain marketed in Alberta was through AWP elevators, as the skylines of rural communities became dominated by these and other "prairie giants." The vertical crib-framed facilities were called elevators because grain was "elevated" to a certain height by mechanical lifts for distribution through hoppers to various storage bins. Virtually every town, village and hamlet along the province's rail lines boasted at least one of these structures, with some communities such as Vulcan and Sexsmith having as many as eight. By mid-century, there were over 700 Alberta Wheat Pool elevators doing business in the province. During the latter part of the century, the Alberta Wheat Pool was also handling seed and fertilizer distribution, with a gross annual profit to its members of over $1 billion annually. With a decline in rail transport, however, the number of wood frame elevators began to shrink, and, by the end of the century, all grain companies were consolidating their intake activities by erecting huge concrete storage facilities with hydraulic pressure used to elevate and distribute the grain. In 1998, the Alberta Wheat Pool itself was consolidated in an amalgamation with Manitoba Pool elevators to form Agricore Ltd. In 1978, one of the last wood frame grain elevators to be built in Alberta was constructed in Leduc by the Alberta Wheat Pool. Probably because the structure was new and in good shape, it managed to survive the spate of elevator demolitions that has occurred in western Canada in recent years. This elevator has, however, now been closed due to the construction of larger concrete storage facilities nearby. HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE The historical significance of the Alberta Wheat Pool Grain Elevator Site Complex at Leduc lies in its provision of structural evidence of the standard method of grain storage and marketing in Alberta during the greater part of the twentieth century. It also stands as a testament to the ubiquity of the Alberta Wheat Pool, a farmers' collective that grew into a $1 billion per year marketing enterprise. The elevator also tells of the rich grain-growing district that surrounds Leduc, which made this community the largest farming service centre between Edmonton and Wetaskiwin.

Additional Information

Object Number:	4665-0818
Designation File:	DES 2105
Related Listing(s):
Heritage Survey File:	HS 67774 HS 67775 HS 67776
Website Link:
Data Source:	Alberta Culture and Community Spirit, Historic Resources Management Branch, Old St. Stephen's College, 8820 - 112 Street, Edmonton, AB T6G 2P8 (File: Des. 2105)