End of an era as Canada’s oldest ‘prairie castle’ to be dismantled

The Lake of the Woods Milling elevator in Elva, Manitoba. Decades of neglect means the elevator can’t be saved. Photograph: Gordon Goldsborough

For nearly 125 years, a wooden grain elevator towered over the town of Elva, visible from miles away and distinguishing the community as an economic hub in the Canadian Prairies.

The structure endured frigid cold, beating rains and harsh sun, but after decades of neglect, its owner has announced plans to dismantle the country’s oldest “prairie castle”, closing a chapter in the region’s history.