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SW1-11-5-W3 (N49°52.773' W106°33.424')

Named after Father Louis-Joseph-Pierre Gravel (1868-1926), a Roman Catholic missionary along with his brothers; Dr. Henri Gravel, Sam Gravel of the North West Mounted Police, and journalist Wilfrid Gravel.

Incorporated: 1906

Population: 1187 (2001)

The town's website: http://www.atouchofeurope.net
Vator History:
In years past many grain elevator companies' names were listed across these Prairie billboards.  Today there is only one name operating a vator in Gravelbourg, the Pioneer Grain Company with its 7400* tonnes capacity vator.  Built in the 80s, it is one of the last of the wood crib giants built.
Just to the east stands a little vator and prior to the Saskatchewan Wheat Pool building its new "D" vator in 1979 and converting this one to just an annex, it stood its own ground for over sixty years.  It has seen upwards of eight other neighboring vators on this rail siding while it handled, directly, its own grain shipments.  It again became an individual vator when the Pool demolished its "D" vator in 2004 and donated the little vator to the town for historical preservation.
This one little vator has a long distinguished history.  Built in 1915, by the Saskatchewan and Western Elevator Company it has a capacity of  700 tonnes or 25500  bushels in its 15 bins.  In 1922 the Topper Grain Company took possession of it only to be taken over by the Federal Grain Co. in 1929.  It then passed through the hands of the Reliance Grain Co in 1939-40 and in 1945-46 only to revert back to Federal's control.
In 1950 Federal sold it to the Searle Grain Co. Ltd and was then sold back to Federal in 1967.  1972 the Saskatchewan Wheat Pool took over Federal and its elevators.

Advancing to December 2003 the Pool announced it was demolishing its last vator and offered the town the original 1915 building.   A SOLE (Save Our Little Elevator) committee was formed and through much debate the town accepted the Pool's offer in April 2005.  Interior cleaning and some external repairs have been completed but much work is still remains to fully restore the vator, including rebuilding the driveway and exterior painting.
  Recent news; December 2006; Saskatchewan Heritage Resources announced it has placed this vator on the short list of Grain Elevators designated under the The Heritage Property Act. Twelve other vators are also on this list.
 
Around the Little Elevator:
Inside one of the bins, looking upwards: Inside cleaning and the shipping scale:
Inside the cupola; the top of the vator: Cleaning day, exterior on the driveway side:
*1 bushel wheat/soybeans (60lbs) = 27.22 (27) kilograms//1 metric ton = 36.74 (37) bushels wheat/ soybeans (60lbs/bu)

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Around town, now and then:

A recent mural depicting the town's nine vators:
   
  This undated image shows the town's nine vators.

 The 'Highest Elevator Gravelbourg Sask', the Farmers' Elevator Co Ltd 1940s, (it is the one on the furthest left in the mural.)
       

Main Street looking north to the train station (now a private residence) and the Little Elevator to its right:

Main Street looking north in the 1920's:
       

The Counent Srs Jesus Marie:

And as it was:
       

The Cathedrale:
       

Interior:

And Gravelbourg from the air, c. 1970s:
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