Scandia Eastern Irrigation District Museum

If you find yourself out near Brooks Alberta, turn south on Highway #36 just west of town and head on down to a little community called Scandia. They’ve got an extra special prairie-life themed open air museum there that you can take in. A vintage grain elevator and old train station are two highlights. Even if you visit in off hours or off season, you can still wander the property and take pictures (stuff some bills in the donation box when you do) – you just won’t be able to go inside buildings.

We explored the Scandia Eastern Irrigation District Museum (officially “Historic Park”) in April of 2018, so before they opened for the year. It was pure magic being on the grounds, which we had all to our ourselves, and outside the occasional gust of wind or the odd passing car, there was complete silence. Overwhelming stuff this, no mind blowing, connecting with the past, taking in these old structures and machines of metal and thinking about their history in a most intimate way and with zero distractions. That’s how we like it.

The most imposing structure on the “EID” property is the circa 1927 Alberta Wheat Pool grain elevator. It stands where built, just off the “downtown” main drag and is by far the tallest thing around. You can’t miss it! There’s a ton of wood in these “prairie sentinels”. This one is pretty typical of the era in both size and design. There was once a second grain elevator in Scandia, a former “Federal” later owned by the AWP.

At the Eastern Irrigation District Museum, Scandia Alberta.

The mighty Pool was traditionally the largest grain handling firm in the province for much of its history (they owned hundreds and hundreds of rural elevators), that today is but a memory. The rail line here, a rural grain branch belonging to the Canadian Pacific Railway, came in from the north where it connected with the firms east/west mainline. It arrived roughly concurrent with the construction of the elevator. Think of all the countless boxcars of grain shipped out to far reaching markets around the world from this very building over its fifty years. Scandia was the “end of track” and except during grain rushes, service was at best a couple times per week. Traffic was never that heavy.

The last train came and went about 1977 and the track soon afterwards pulled up. About this time the elevator was saved by a local group and has since been restored. It looks fantastic.

The little building out back housed the office and drive engine. The latter was kept separated from the main building due to it being a fire hazard (grain dust can be explosive). Metal cladding is also a mitigation measure. An elevator going up in flames could be disastrous. The few that did, burned spectacularly.

On a stretch of track out front on display is a stock car. Yes, farm animals used to move by rail – well into the 1960s in fact. This “double decker” is late model from the 1950s and would be used to handle sheep or hogs. Beef, however, most often travelled by rail only in similar looking single level cars.

Just up the tracks north of the elevator is the pens where they used to ship from. This is one of the last railway stockyards (called the Bow Slope Stockyards) remaining anywhere. Just like there used to be a grain elevator in most prairie communities, so was there a place to ship out cattle or other beasts. Every town also had a loading ramp – for incoming shipments of wood or farm machinery among others – and Scandia is no exception. It’s right next to the elevator but somehow escaped being photographed by us. Sigh, we miss stuff all the time.

Another notable building at the Museum is a train station moved in from the town of Jenner a bit to the north. It dates from circa 1913-1914 and came to the Eastern Irrigation District Museum a few years back around the time it was celebrating its 100th birthday (shout out to Warkentin Building Movers). Oddly, the Team remembers passing through Jenner many times back before this all came down, but never recalled seeing the building. Our heads were up our bums I guess… We’ve searched far and wide to find a photo of Scandia’s original station, but have come up short.

A row of buildings represents a small town street. It’s just feels right! There’s a service station with an old globe pump, a general store, a blacksmith (every town had one) and various businesses and residences. Over there’s a barn, and that way, the old river ferry that once crossed the Bow River to the south (there’s a bridge there now).

Row after row of old vehicles are on display, some out in the open, others under roof. Cars, trucks and lots of old farm machinery are all seen. There’s the infamous Ford Edsel, circa late 1950s, a car that was heavily hyped when introduced but was not well received by the general public. Ford took a huge loss on the design selling less than half of what they hoped for. Ugly was just one complaint. About 7.5k of them were built in Canada, of the approximate 118k produced in total, making them here in this country rather rare overall. The front end looks like puckering lips.

An old Ford Truck from the late 1960s keeps it company. The old man had one just like it.

Over there, an old Federal Truck from the 1920s (a rare beastie), a fire truck in retirement and the Green Meanie, a 1940s ere Chevy Pickup painted up in bold colours. Tractors from many makes, International Farmall, Deere, among others, are seen including the less common (Canada anyway), Minneapolis Moline. Yellow was their “company colours”. Over there’s a combine from Cockshutt. This firm was once a dominate maker of farm machinery in the country, but now, you’ll only see their products at museums or in the hands of collectors. An American competitor bought them out in the 1960s and shut them down soon after (a smart way to gain entry to a market and eliminate competition at the same time).

There’s a real old car perhaps your Gramps or Great Gramps drove. Not sure the model, and boy is it beaten up and missing a lot, but wow, the nostalgia on seeing it. Many old wagons are seen. Back then, these might be used to haul grain to market, perhaps the very grain elevator seen here, horsepower of the real kind providing muscle to keep the wheels moving. Oh, how things have changed…and in less than a century.

On Railway Avenue (once again, every town had a one) opposite the museum is an old church. It’s not part of the EID display, but looks like it could be. It’s still used from time to time for services. It adds an interesting dimension to the photos.

We wander more and the day flies by. There’s so much to see and we came no where close to capturing it all. And anyway, why should we? We want you to to have some new discoveries and see things we didn’t before, should we pay it a revisit. Anyway, we spent a good two hours here…and didn’t want to go.

The Eastern Irrigation District Museum was founded circa 1976. They don’t seem to have a website that we could find. Contact us if you’re connected to the group and tell us more. And if you want use of these photos, at no cost of course, we can arrange that too. We can send them larger and in higher-resolution.

On the way out, a look down 3rd Street at the elevator. We could be time travellers, this view perhaps taken in the 1920s with the world’s economy booming and hope and promise in the air. Or the 1930s with the life sucking depression in full swing. Or the 1940s, with War on everyone’s mind. Or…

The scene is timeless!

Scandia today is home to some about a hundred and fifty people and is a sleepy little backwater community. Flashback to when founded (in the 1920s recall) it was a much busier – the prairies were happening then!

By the way, if you want to stay for a day or two, there’s a campground at the south end of the Museum Property with space for many RVs. That’ll give you plenty of time to take it all in at the EID.

Back when animals moved by rail.

On the way home we doddle. In the town of Bassano, not terribly far away, an old Hotel, the “Imperial Hunter”, a place we’ve been itching go into for a cold one for some time, but always seem to be in a rush and can’t stop. Next time. Then there’s that old International Truck seen. Gotta stop for old trucks you know!

We hit up Scandia before…
Scandia Alberta.

More open air museums…
Wandering the Alberta Railway Museum.
Shandro Village (closed for decades).
Draglines and Shovels – Reynolds Alberta Museum (Monster Earth Movers).

If you wish more information on what you’ve seen here, by all means contact us!

Date: April, 2018.
Location: Scandia, AB.
Article references (and thanks): Eastern Irrigation District Museum, Alberta Register of Historic Places (Hermis – Heritage Recourse Management Information System), Warkentin Building Movers, AlbertaFarmExpress.ca.

If you visit the Museum be sure and give a big donation.

The town’s 1920s era Grain Elevator.

In retirement.

The elevator was last used in the 1970s.

A Chevrolet Pickup from the 1940s – love the colour!

A 1920s Federal.

Good strong tractor from Minneapolis Moline.

The view from Railway Avenue.

Cockshutt was a big player at one time.

Old and weathered.

That small town feel.

Every farm had one.

Moved in from Jenner.

An assortment of old metal.

A shout out to another small town in the area.

EID = Eastern Irrigation District.

Welcome to Scandia!

It stands where built – old river ferry far left.

The “Pool” was once the largest grain firm in the province.

This building housed offices and the drive engine.

This is a late model “stock” car.

Bogie details.

The trains last visited Scandia in the 1970s.

The infamous Edsel.

From the driver’s seat.

Forty eight years old.

The many miles it rolled.

Something your Great Grandpa drove.

From the “Bow Slope Stockyards”.

The elevator keeps commanding attention.

A most iconic view.

The Imperial Hunter Hotel in nearby Bassano.

A random find on the drive home, this early ’60s IH V200.