Manitoba Business: Wiley and Company / Wiley Low and Company

In December 1908, the firm of Wiley and Company was established by businessman John Moses Wiley along with lawyer Thomas Llewellyn Metcalfe, lawyer Lorne John Elliott, and accountant William J. Smith. Initially focused on “real and personal property,” the company soon moved into the buying and selling of grain.

It became Wiley Low and Company around 1915-1916 when William Thomas Low became a partner. Around this time, it bought its first four grain elevators, at Gladstone, Kelloe, Golden Stream, and Mayfield. The company expanded its holdings to nine elevators, four of them in Manitoba, in time for the 1916-1917 season. In the next few years, Wiley Low continued its apparent strategy of picking up the occasional elevator from a variety of sources (e.g., 1 from Canadian, 1 from Maple Leaf, 3 from Midland, 3 from Farmers companies, 2 from Arthur Lobb, and some other small one-elevator operators) each year. However, it is noticeable that the strategy did not include buying other elevator companies, which had been a characteristic of many of the larger grain trade operations.

In mid-1932, the company sold most of its country elevators to Federal Grain and henceforth focused on stocks and bonds.

Presidents

Period

President

1908-1930

John Moses Wiley (1874-1961)

Secretary-Treasurers

Period

Secretary-Treasurer

c1930

William Thomas Low (c1882-1974)

Country Elevators (Manitoba)

Location

Rail

Opened

Closed

Capacity
(bushels)

Comments

Altamont

CNR

1926

1932

30,000

Bought from Elevator Commission (April 1926), sold to Federal Grain (1932)

Argyle

CNR

1923

1932

15,000

Bought from Arthur Lobb (1922), sold to Federal Grain (1932)

Berton/Helston

CNR

1918

1932

25,000

Sold to Federal Grain (1932)

Carroll

CPR

1927

1932

30,000

Bought from Elevator Commission (September 1927), sold to Federal Grain (1932)

Clearwater

CPR

1927

1932

30,000

Bought from Elevator Commission (September 1927), sold to Federal Grain (1932)

Darlingford

CPR

1919

1932

25,000

Sold to Federal Grain (1932)

Dunrea

CNR

1927

1927

22,000

Bought from Elevator Commission (September 1927), re-sold to UGG (1927?)

Elliott Siding

CNR

1927

1927

28,000

Bought from Elevator Commission (September 1927), re-sold to UGG (1927?)

Elphinstone

CNR

1928

1928

30,000

 

Fallison

CPR

1926

1932

30,000

Bought from Elevator Commission (April 1926), sold to Federal Grain (1932)

Gladstone

CPR

1915

1929

6,000

 

Golden Stream

CNR

1915

1932

12,000

Sold to Federal Grain (1932)

Grosse Isle

CNR

1920

1932

30,000

Sold to Federal Grain (1932)

Holmfield

CPR

1927

1932

30,000

Sold to Federal Grain (1932)

Kaleida

CPR

1919

1925

25,000

 

Kelloe

?

1915

?

25,000

 

La Riviere

CPR

1924

1932

30,000

Sold to Federal Grain (1932)

Langruth

CNR

1918

1932

8,000

Sold to Federal Grain (1932)

Lauder

CPR

1927

1932

50,000

Sold to Federal Grain (1932)

Linklater

CPR

1927

1932

32,000

Sold to Federal Grain (1932)

Mayfield

CNR

1915

1924

6,000

 

Miami

CNR

1921

1932

25,000

Sold to Federal Grain (1932)

Mowbray

CPR

1923

1932

25,000

Sold to Federal Grain (1932)

Myrtle

CNR

1926

1932

25,000

Sold to Federal Grain (1932)

Napinka

CPR

1926

1932

30,000

Sold to Federal Grain (1932)

Ninga

CPR

1926

1932

30,000

Sold to Federal Grain (1932)

Rea

CNR

1926

1930

30,000

 

Rivers

CNR

1926

1926

25,000

 

Shoal Lake

CPR

1916

1932

30,000

Leased from Elevator Commission (1916); sold to Federal Grain (1932)

Silver Plains

CNR

1919

1927

14,000

 

Snowflake

CPR

1924

1932

21,000

Sold to Federal Grain (1932)

Somerset

CNR

1920

1932

28,000

 

Stephenfield

CNR

1927

1932

30,000

Sold to Federal Grain (1932)

Stockton

CPR

1927

1932

30,000

Sold to Federal Grain (1932)

Strathclair

?

1916

1917

?

Bought from Elevator Commission (1916), sold to Export Elevator (1917), re-sold to C. G. Murphy (1918)

Swan Lake

CNR

1919

1932

25,000

Sold to Federal Grain (1932)

Warren

CNR

1923

1932

40,000

Sold to Federal Grain (1932)

Windygates

CPR

1923

1932

30,000

Sold to Federal Grain (1932)

Winnipeg

CPR

1935

1937

20,000

 

Sources:

“Modern dairy for Winnipeg,” Manitoba Free Press, 14 December 1908, page 10.

“Announcement,” Shoal Lake Star, 4 August 1932, page 5.

“Wiley, Low takes over McNichol investments,” Winnipeg Tribune, 29 March 1935, page 18.

This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough and John Everitt.

Page revised: 23 March 2024