Southern British Columbia is a not a place I have spent a lot of time in. Yes, there were some long weekend trips to Creston as a kid, and the camping trip I took with my dad in 1985 when I cut my foot open in the creek in Cranbrook, but it is not a place where I have had the chance to do a deep dive.

This week, many grain elevator and historic places groups broke the news that one of the two grain elevators in Creston would be coming down shortly. Indeed, the word was that “deconstruction” had already begun.

One of the grain elevators, the red one seen in the photo above, has been a story of successful preservation. The white elevator, seen in the background, has severe structural issues which necessitate its removal. While efforts will be made to preserve the historical artifacts and some of the lumber, the fact remains that any grain elevator loss is impactful.

There aren’t many examples of two grain elevators remaining together. We’ve recently lost the pair at Dankin, Saskatchewan and Elva, Manitoba. The pairs at Neidpath, Neelby, and Lepine (all in Saskatchewan) are in bade shape.

British Columbia never had many grain elevators, and you can count the remaining ones on one hand. I believe outside of the two in Creston, the only other one is in Dawson Creek, but I could certainly be wrong on this.

I don’t know exactly when the white grain elevator in Creston was built. One source says 1936 and another says 1937. We do know that it will come to an end in 2024. We’ll do our best to get out there and get some more photos and drone footage.

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