The Yorkton Brick Mill Heritage Society

2024 Governors’ Awards

In 1899, a brick flour mill was built in Yorkton, Saskatchewan, to support the new settlement’s agricultural base. Over the next 80 years, the Old Mill was reinvented a number of times by changing ownership and needs until falling into disuse in the late 1980s. Today, it is one of Saskatchewan’s oldest standing industrial buildings. 

The Yorkton Brick Mill Heritage Society Inc. was formed in early 2012 by individuals interested in encouraging the preservation of the oldest surviving brick flour mill in Saskatchewan. Historically a community hub, the Mill is now being developed to be a cultural hub for today.   

The Flour Mill is becoming a place of learning and community engagement, where all ages learn about the early agricultural history of the Yorkton area and Saskatchewan. 

The Yorkton Tribal Council worked with the Society on the grounds, including interpretive panels on the pre-settlement occupation of the area, and have partnered on events like Indigenous Teaching Tuesdays. The Interpretive Station, set to open in 2025, will be used for community events, helping to preserve Yorkton’s heritage while contributing to economic growth.  

The National Trust for Canada’s Board of Governors has chosen to recognize the Yorkton Brick Mill Heritage Society with a Governors’ Award for the Society’s Yorkton Brick Mill project as an example of how heritage conservation can meet the needs of communities today.