This is from a list of 20 abandoned towns from across Canada, and up north. There are more than 3 in Ontario. It must depend on how literally, or particular, you are about what is a town versus a village, hamlet, and etc. There isn't much left of any abandoned towns, villages, or hamlets in Ontario. It could make a good road trip to see what you can find. (Be respectful of private, or any, property).
Lemieux, Ontario
Lemieux, Ontario was founded in 1850, starting life as a mill town and farming community. According to Ontario Abandoned Places, the town was abandoned quite recently: between 1989 and 1991. The reason was that the soil on which the town was built made it vulnerable to landslides.
Redwater, Ontario
Redwater may seem like just another ghost town but when you hear what happened here, you’ll think it should be right up there with the world’s creepiest tourist attractions. According to Ontario Abandoned Places, in 1909 the local telegraph operator was brutally beaten and died while telegraphing for help. The town was abandoned by the 1950s after the Redwater sawmill closed down.
Altona, Ontario
According to Ontario Abandoned Places, Altona was founded in the early 1800s when Mennonites moved here from Pennsylvania. The Mennonite Church here was built in 1852. Today there are still churches, schools, a general store and some homes but most of the buildings have been boarded up and abandoned.
CCDH, formerly the National Heritage Digitization Strategy, is a cross-sectoral coalition of memory organizations committed to expanding digital access to Canada’s cultural heritage. We strive to build an inclusive community of practice; enabling and coordinating collaboration, capacity, and resources to advance shared priorities.
I may have posted this link before. It's an interesting find. I will send it to the Ontario Barn Preservation group and... I wonder if it would be a good source/place for my own rural and urban exploration photos. Unbuilt heritage.
Tis the season for driving along country lanes and finding apple trees loaded with fresh fruit, never picked. Kind of sad those trees that grow forgotten along the road. Once they would have been picked, the apples used in pies or eaten right off the tree. Now people just drive on by and only notice them in passing. Yet those are our history, our heritage.
Next time you see an apple tree stop and pick a few. Some may be bug eaten, but some of the brown patches are only places where it rubbed on the tree branch and not anything you can’t just peel away. It may be the best apple you have ever had, if you give them a chance. Of those I picked almost all were edible, not bug eaten as I expected they would be. One was especially delicious. It’s a shame I don’t know what kind of apple tree it came from.
Would you grow an apple from seed? Have you ever grown a plant from seed? Why not try one, even something tropical or exotic and have it grow by your writing space. Keep your seedling company and let it inspire you with something fresh and growing where you work.
Heritage exploration on the Prairies. From ghost towns to hospitals and everything in between, our focus is documenting sites through historical research, photography, videography, and drone footage.
We specialize in abandoned photography across Saskatchewan.
I have a deep connection to forgotten spaces - remnants of the past in the vast expanse of the Saskatchewan landscape. Chasing Yesterday Photography embodies a quest for memory, history, and the beauty found in the forgotten, all intricately tied to the endless skies of the prairie. It’s about the stories waiting to be discovered and shared.