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CPR Grain Elevator Fire

The 1911 CPR grain elevator fire in Owen Sound harbour would have a profound impact on that Georgian Bay community.

Georgian Bay ports with grain elevators are busy places each autumn. At that time of year ships are racing to beat the winter freeze-up of the Great Lakes. Their object is to get as much of the grain out of the elevators at Thunder Bay on Lake Superior as possible and deliver it to southern markets for distribution throughout North America and abroad.

The harvest of the wheat fields of the Canadian West has continually played an integral part in the Canadian economy. Therefore, it has always been of paramount importance that as much grain as possible be shipped out of Thunder Bay to southern ports before ice and winter storms make navigation an impossibility.

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The CPR Comes to Owen Sound

In the 1880s Owen Sound was a vital link in the trans-shipment of the Canadian grain crop. The elevators in Owen Sound harbour were a focal point of this activity. In the 1880s Owen Sound was the eastern terminus for the C.P.R.'s Great Lakes fleet. In order to facilitate the grain which passed through this port it was necessary that two large elevators be built.

The first of these wooden elevators was erected in 1885. It was the first of the large elevators which became common sites in most Great Lakes ports. Each year hundreds of thousands of bushels of grain were unloaded at the elevators in Owen Sound. The grain was then trans-shipped by railroad to Toronto and other southern ports.

Owen Sound C.P.R Grain Elevator

CPR Grain Elevator Fire -
December 11, 1911

On Dec. 11, 1911 a dramatic event occurred in Owen Sound's busy harbour. On that date the community was a hive of activity. Several ships had arrived with their cargos. Workers were busy loading rail cars to enable the elevators to receive more grain as the ships were racing between the lake head and this port to beat the winter freeze-up. A provincial election had been held that day. The downtown streets were crowded waiting for the election results. Suddenly an eerie glow filled the sky over the harbour.

Panic and fear must have raced through the minds of the citizens as they sped en masse to the docks. Major fires had not been an uncommon event in the previous two decades in the community. In an era of rapid growth and industrialization, the existence of wooden buildings and inadequate fire safety and prevention, had created a situation which had led to disasters, the worst of which had been the destruction of the North American Bent Chair Company.

When they arrived at the harbour their worst fears were confirmed. The elevators laden with grain, were ablaze! The celebration of A.G. MacKay's record majority victory in the provincial election now seemed irrelevant as everyone pitched in to and stop the fiery inferno. Quickly, it was realized by the firemen and the citizens alike that the combination of the wooden structures and its contents was lethal in terms of the total destruction of the CPR grain elevators.

Containment of the blaze became the only solution with the hope that the flames could be kept from reaching the ships which were moored nearby and the other buildings in the area. Two vessels in the C.P.R. fleet, the “Keewatin” and “Athabasca”, were moored near the elevators.

Fortunately, the “Keewatin” had her steam up and Captain McPhee quickly moved his vessel out of danger.

However, the “Athabasca” did not have any steam to power the ship from peril. Facing the danger of the ship burning, the crowd seized the hawsers and dragged the “Athabasca” further along the wharf and, hopefully out of danger from the CPR grain elevator fire.

While the volunteers worked to move vessels and protect surrounding structures the firemen tried to contain the fire. Several of them narrowly escaped death when a hundred square foot wall collapsed under the strain of the weight of thousands of bushels of wheat. It crashed to the ground mere inches from the fire fighters who were pouring water onto the flames.

In the end the CPR grain elevator fire destroyed the entire structure. Rather than rebuild, the C.P.R. moved its fleet the next year, 1912, to Port McNichol, which was also closer to the new rail line which had been built to connect Sudbury with Toronto, Although the loss of the C.P.R. fleet was a serious blow to Owen Sound's economy, the port continued as a valuable link in the Great Lakes transportation system.

Owen Sound Harbour 2011
Photo taken from approximate location of CPR elevator a century earlier
Photo by Paul White

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