Flat Warehouse Restoration Project

In the early days of Manitoba agriculture, farmers delivered their grain to a “flat warehouse,” a one-storey rectangular building with a ramp on one side for horse-drawn wagons, and rails on the other side for loading grain into boxcars. Grain was moved in and out of the flat warehouse manually—by scoop or in cloth sacks.

The first grain elevator in Manitoba was built at Gretna, in 1881. An elevator handled grain without need of manual labour, so it quickly replaced the flat warehouse. In 1901, Manitoba had 76 licensed flat warehouses; by 1917, it had none.

The last surviving flat warehouse on the prairies is located in western Manitoba. Constructed in 1902, it was used for much of the 20th century to store farm supplies and hardware.

The Manitoba Agricultural Museum intends to move the Flat Warehouse to the museum grounds, put it on a solid foundation, and restore it inside and out to its former glory, as an exhibit of the early history of grain handling in Manitoba.

How you can help

1. Sponsorship

We invite you to become a sponsor at one of five levels:

• Friends “SCOOP” level: $20 to $999
• Bronze “BUSHEL” level: $1,000 to $4,999
• Silver “WAGON” level: $5,000 to $9,999
• Gold “BIN” level: $10,000 to $24,999
• Platinum “WAREHOUSE” level: $25,000 or more

All donors will be recognized on a permanent display in the Flat Warehouse, as well as on the museum’s social media, website, and annual report.

Tax receipts will be issued for all donations of $20 and up. Donations can be sent by etransfer to info@mbagmuseum.ca, by cheques mailed or delivered to the museum, or by the museum’s Canada Helps account:

2. Prairie Pride Fireworks Promotion

As one of the first major sponsors of the Flat Warehouse project, BLAST-OFF Fireworks of Selkirk is offering special sets of Prairie Pride fireworks with a portion of each sale dedicated to moving and restoring the Flat Warehouse. Ask for Prairie Pride by name at any of the 4,000+ stores across Canada where BLAST-OFF Fireworks are sold.

Each 22-piece set of Prairie Pride contains:

• 1 Bazooka (barrage, 30 shots)
• 1 Atomic Blue (floral shell, 1 shot)
• 1 Ruby Rox (floral shell, 1 shot)
• 1 Dragon Spit (comet, 1 shot)
• 1 Bursting Glory (floral shell, 1 shot)
• 1 Krackle Popper (floral shell, 1 shot)
• 1 Sky Dancer (floral shell, 1 shot)
• 1 Emerald Fire (floral shell, 1 shot)
• 1 Green Fish (floral shell, 1 shot)
• 1 Shimmering Sensation (cake, 9 shots)
• 1 Jackpot (cake, 8 shots)
• 1 Gold Digger (cake, 19 shots)
• 1 Grape Crackle (cake, 9 shots)
• 1 Watermelon Crackle (cake, 9 shots)
• 8 Ten-inch Sparklers