ontario ghost towns

sad testaments to visions that have passed their time, to the ravages of war, to a change in fortune, or sometimes even to a change in the weather, ghost towns can be found all over the world. what is common to them all is the lingering sense of presence that each carries. the memories of people for whom the town, the house, the garden, the shop, the carefully hung picture on the wall was home. home is such a precious thing carrying resonant weight in the form of security, comfort, and most especially as a receptacle, a location for the set of personal histories that populate it.

i love seeing abandoned buildings - especially farm houses - because they somehow retain the charm that was almost certainly there when they were working, filled with the stories of the people who were born there, lived there, and often died there as well. i don't feel the same comfort with abandoned or derelict commercial buildings, preferring a more arms length connection with them - preferably through photographs!

the economic landscape of ontario has undergone many changes, much of the change driven through dependency on natural resources that have either run out or for which the demand has simply vanished much like the people who dreamed of the wealth that they felt certain would come their way. there are many sites devoted to the history and current status of these ghost towns but i have dug up three that i think are worth digging into.

this site is well organized with fascinating stories, photo links, town plans, and photographs that tell the stories of a few ontario ghost towns.

a more comprehensive and extensively documented site can be found here at ontario abandoned places. chock full of amazing photographs that include a really good section on the don valley brickworks which i know i have passed by thousands of times in my life, the site also offers a link to the little known markham abandoned plane “graveyard”.

this site is more of a photo collection but each photo does contain a small descriptive phrase to give it more colour. the links to the former town of balaclava were especially intriguing and i came across this detailed wikipedia entry on the rise and fall of the town of balaclava. this site has more information and some pictures of balaclava.