In the Presence of Ghosts: Saskatchewan's Abandoned Landscape

Drawn in by optimistic government campaigns, thousands of immigrants hopeful of the promised benefits of prairie living quickly sprawled across what would shortly become known as Saskatchewan. Rail lines stretched in every direction and villages began to sprout up every ten kilometers along the way. Within only a few decades however, the growth quickly turned into despair; years of widespread drought, the Great Depression, and land restructuring forced many to flee, leaving behind vacant homes and little hope for the few who stayed. Half a century later, the continuous decline in rural population has led to over 300 of these towns to now be considered "ghost towns," that are gradually becoming more invisible. With no likely intervention in sight, these fragments of our immigrant heritage will be all but invisible for the next generation.