Brokenhead's last
"Prairie Sentinel"

About the Elevator

Our Overlooked Historical Gem

Brokenhead's Origins

Agriculture at its Roots

Backing the title of Eastern Manitoba’s agricultural capital, the Brokenhead area was home to numerous elevators throughout it’s history.  Sadly, these days of grain elevator dominance are now just a memory. 

Beausejour’s once-imposing “elevator row” is long-gone, with the last elevator falling victim to demolition in 2012.  The only remaining wooden grain elevator in the Brokenhead area – and in the Eastern Manitoba region, for that matter – is the Tyndall Elevator.

For anyone growing up in the RM of Brokenhead, farming was a celebrated way of life.  The importance of this industry, this way of life, is best depicted by the official seal of the Municipality.  Displayed in the most prominent position of the municipality’s seal resides an image of a grain elevator.

As the RM of Brokenhead, and society in general, progresses into the future, the importance of preserving our past becomes more relevant than ever before.  The preservation of artifacts, exhibits, and physical structures serves to pay homage to those who came before us, and provide inspiration for those who will lead our community into the future.

The Tyndall Elevator

A Timeless Original

The Tyndall Elevator is an original 35,000-bushel wooden grain elevator in the village of Tyndall, Manitoba, a community in the Rural Municipality of Brokenhead on the former CPR mainline (later, the Lac Du Bonnet Subdivision).  It was built in the 1940s for the Lake of the Woods Milling Company. It replaced an earlier elevator at the site, built in 1918 by the Harper Construction Company, that was disassembled.

In November 1959, the elevator was sold to Manitoba Pool Elevators and, the following year, its operation was taken over by a farmer-led cooperative, the Tyndall Co-operative Elevator Association. In 1960, a 30,000-bushel balloon annex was constructed on its west side. 

Modernization and Centralization

Sweeping Changes... Large Farms get Larger

In 1971, the results of an analysis by Manitoba Pool showed that “the farmers concerned could be reasonably well served at neighboring points, so that the cost of the small unit could be eliminated without significantly increasing the cost to farmers or to neighboring elevators.” The elevator at Tyndall closed in July 1971 and was sold to the Tyndall Grain Corporation, a privately licensed grain brokerage owned by the Bialek Family, originally from the Hazelglen area. 

The CPR rail line was abandoned around 1990 but the elevator continued to operate as an inland storage facility, with grain transported by trucks.

The Bialek family continued to operate the elevator through the early 2000’s, having passed from Edward Bialek (Father) to Randy (Son) in the early 1990’s.  Throughout the Bialek Family’s ownership, several upgrades to the facility were made, including: the “tinning” of roof structures on the facility, the “tinning” of the exterior elevator structure, and the addition of a Vertec natural gas grain dryer to the south of the complex.

The Tyndall Elevator closed around 2012 as the need for large, bulk storage declined, and the sheer size of today’s grain transportation infrastructure rendered the elevator obsolete.

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Source for portions of the information included above: Manitoba Historical Society.

Something to Save for Future Generations

To Succeed in the Future... We must Remember the Past

This elevator has a tremendous heritage value to the area, as it:

• Is the last remaining wooden grain elevator in Eastern Manitoba.  

• Was located on the “original” CPR mainline that passed from Molson through East Selkirk. This former mainline was built as a condition of Canada’s confederation in 1867.

• Presents visitors with a glimpse back to the past, and pays homage to the area’s most prominent citizens: the farmers.

• Provides with community with unparalleled tourism potential, forming an immediate additional “draw” to the area. 

• Is one of the last remaining “original” (non-upgraded) country elevators in the Province of Manitoba.  All of the original spouts, elevation equipment, and scales remain preserved and in-tact.

A timeless video highlighting the importance of local grain elevators in the history of the Canadian prairies, and why we must save "The Beacon" in Tyndall, Manitoba.

"Grain Elevator"
By Charles Konowal