Ghost Towns

Founded in the 1840's, Petites, Newfoundland, has been home to generations of weather-hardened souls who made their living on the sea.  By 1859, a methodist church was constructed that later became the Bethany United Church.  There were 212 people living here in 1946, and only 146 by 1956.  In October, 2003, the last remaining residents of the community were resettled.

I had the privilege of visiting the remains of this abandoned town with my father, and spent two days exploring and photographing as much as I could.

I arrived in my nice, clean, white, rented Equinox.  The windows were up, and the cool air was coming from the air conditioner.  The sun was shining, and I was loving being away from the cold and snow of Canada.  When I arrived, first at Salton City, I drove close to the beach and stopped.  I looked out over the shimmering water, turned off the engine and got out...  THE STENCH!  Nothing had prepared me for the smell.  Like seaweed and rotting fish, yet somehow much, much worse.  I looked around, noticed that some of the houses were actually occupied and thought,

As is often the case with these things, I wasn't completely sure as to the exact location of this town when I arrived.  In fact, I wasn't completely sure there was even anything left to see.  However, we were on vacation, we were in the area, give or take a few hundred kilometres, why not go take a look.

When we were close to the spot, I decided to park the truck and consider two possible directions we could begin hiking.  One seemed most likely, so I chose to eliminate the other first.  As it turns out, both were right.

Fairness requires that I give each of these towns their own, individual stories.

Goldfield, Colorado

My hotel in Radisson, QC.

After two days of driving, experiencing the James Bay Road, and eventually falling asleep under the blanket of Northern Lights, I awoke Tuesday morning excited and raring to go. I was to meet Roger, my contact, at his business in Chisasibi, a First Nations community about 100 km west of Radision, QC.

History: 

Balaclava was started with the sawmill in 1855 on Constant Creek. By the 1860's, a blacksmith and hotel had joined the permanent residents. The sawdust burner was constructed in 1903 to avoid polluting the river.

In 1936, the mill had to be almost completely rebuilt after a fire.

Once a very important shipping port in the Great Lakes, and the westernmost point of the Ottawa, Arnprior and Parry Sound Railway, Depot Harbour is now little more than some concrete ruins hidden among the trees.

History: 

Settlement here began as early as 1841, but it wasn’t until 1854 that the town, then known as Centerville, would be formally laid out. In 1865, the Post Office would open, changing the name to Centralia as it would be officially incorporated the following year.

Coal mining was the principal employer in the region until the 1960’s when many of the companies would begin going out of business.

History: 

Worthington was incorporated as a mining town in 1892. On October 4, 1927, at 5:50 am, the mine, and part of the town collapsed into a fault line. There were no deaths, however, thanks to the vigilance of the foreman who evacuated the town the night before, having noticed abnormal shifts in the rock.

Some additional information available at Wikipedia.