source: Farm and Food Report
There are only one or two such buildings left west of Quebec: the Esterhazy Flour Mill opened for business in June of 1907 as a unique combination of grain elevator and flour mill, two distinct facilities housed in one cleverly designed structure.
Ralph May is a local historian who devotes considerable time to learning the secrets of this designated Municipal Heritage Property.
"Farmers would bring their grain to the elevator, where it was tested for moisture and protein content using the old-fashioned chewing method," May says. "A person could instantly tell if the seed was dry. Upon chewing, wheat would produce a special kind of gum. The better the gum, the better the milling quality."
The elevator contains eight storage bins with a capacity of 2,200 bushels. Once the quality of the grain was established, it was cleaned and blended to the requirements of the mill manager; it went down the pit once more and was hauled up with the leg to predetermined bins.
"The property is very much a walk into the past. One of these bins was dedicated to top milling seeds and was connected to the mill itself. The Hungarian patent milling process was state of the art for milling hard red spring wheat when it was installed in 1907. A similar method of grinders and sifters is still in use today."
The sifters, scouring machine, and purifier were manufactured by the Wizard Co. of Michigan. At least one of the fanning mills was patented in 1879, according to Ralph May.
"The elevator and cleaning equipment was operated with a single cylinder gas engine, and the milling section was powered with a steam engine in 1907. Wood for the steam engine was delivered to the mill from the Qu'Appelle valley south of town. The miller of the day would pay $1.00 or $1.50 for a cord of wood. At times there would be up to 100 cords of wood stacked on the east side of the mill."
The milling process itself is an elaborate operation. Five sets of grooved metal grinders turning in opposite directions and at different speeds gradually turned the wheat into flour. The sifters were hung three storeys high from the ceiling by wood dowelling, with four suspended layers of silk screens. A network of belts sprung from the ground floor and activated the whole system.
"It took 10 passes in all: four trips to get rid of the bran and six trips to make the flour. From the time the grain entered the elevator until it was turned into flour, every grain of wheat had traveled 280 meters."
If that wasn't complex enough, the flour had to be bagged the same day to prevent moisture from getting in. Once the milling got under way, the miller was pretty much committed to finishing the whole job that day.
Mr. James Saunders, who also owned the mill at Whitewood as well as other mills in the area, built the Esterhazy Flour Mill. Including Mr. Saunders, there were 15 different owners of the business until 1981.
"Convincing Mr. Saunders to build a flour mill in Esterhazy was very important to the settlers of the area. Local farmers could deliver wheat to the mill in exchange for flour, bran, shorts, and other supplies needed on the farm. Several people talked about relatives having to walk to Whitewood and carry a 100-pound bag of flour home."
Flour from the Esterhazy mill was shipped all across Canada -- particularly during wartime -- under the name of Western Home Flour. A spur line off the main line made it possible to load rail cars on site.
"Picture the period just prior to 1907. One could imagine trainloads of supplies arriving at the future mill site. The timbers -- the largest being almost 24 inches by 12 inches in thickness -- are fir, likely from British Columbia. The flooring is three quarter of an inch thick tongue and groove maple."
Ralph May likes to give tours of the place. "Sometimes I show the mill to Esterhazy citizens, and they are just baffled by the feats of engineering evidenced in this building, which is located right in their backyard. The mill was able to produce 600 pounds of flour an hour."
This is a relatively small operation and it became less viable, which may explain why the mill changed hands several time in later years.
Ralph May is now working on acquiring plans of the mill. His research may take him all the way to Hungary, the birthplace of this particular milling technique. In the meantime, he is always eager to show folks around this magnificent slice of Saskatchewan's industrial heritage.
For more information, contact:
Ralph May
Esterhazy Flour Mill
(306) 745-6455
Comments