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In theBeginning
It perhaps had an odd shape
,
but this wooden grain elevator built in
1879 at Niverville, MB, got the ball rolling
for the storied and sometimes romantic
grain storage and handling system in
Western Canada.
This round elevator, with capacity for
about 25,000 bushels of grain, was the
first elevator built in Western Canada. It
held some of the first barley produced in
Western Canada that was later exported
to overseas markets.
The round elevator, perhaps the first
and last of its kind, was constructed by
John Wittick, who, along with his family,
farmed at Niverville. The elevator was
built in 1879, remained in use until 1904,
and then was dismantled in 1923 and the
materials used to build a barn in the area.
While Wittick was the head carpenter
on the project, the elevator was originally
commissioned by William Hespeler, who
was serving as Dominion immigration
and agriculture agent in Manitoba and the
Northwest Territories at the time.
Hespeler, who was born in Germany,
immigrated to Canada with his family
in 1850. He and his brother ran a grain
mill and later a distillery, which they
eventually sold to Seagram’s. Hespeler
married a Canadian woman and became a
naturalized British subject. He was hired
as an immigration agent by the Canadian
government in 1871.
On a trip to Germany, he learned there
were a number of Mennonite families
in Russia wanting to immigrate to the
United States. The Canadian govern-
ment, looking to increase the settlement
of Western Canada, sent him to Russia
to convince the Mennonites to choose
Canada instead. Through his efforts,
thousands of Mennonites immigrated to
Canada, with most settling in and around
Winnipeg. Hespeler was influential in
encouraging Icelandic immigrants and
Jewish refugees from Germany to settle in
Manitoba, as well.
Photo: Courtesy of the Town of Niverville
AGAINST
THE GRAIN
Fall
2014
Grains
West
50