\n[\/et_pb_fullwidth_header][et_pb_fullwidth_header _builder_version=”4.16″ content_font_size=”13px” background_color=”rgba(255, 255, 255, 0)” background_layout=”light” custom_margin=”0px|||” custom_padding=”0px|||” global_colors_info=”{}” button_one_text_size__hover_enabled=”off” button_two_text_size__hover_enabled=”off” button_one_text_color__hover_enabled=”off” button_two_text_color__hover_enabled=”off” button_one_border_width__hover_enabled=”off” button_two_border_width__hover_enabled=”off” button_one_border_color__hover_enabled=”off” button_two_border_color__hover_enabled=”off” button_one_border_radius__hover_enabled=”off” button_two_border_radius__hover_enabled=”off” button_one_letter_spacing__hover_enabled=”off” button_two_letter_spacing__hover_enabled=”off” button_one_bg_color__hover_enabled=”off” button_two_bg_color__hover_enabled=”off”]Aime Lacelle walks down the empty street in front of his home. Photo by Matthew Olson.<\/em>
\n[\/et_pb_fullwidth_header][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”4.16″ global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.16″ global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.16″ custom_padding=”|||” global_colors_info=”{}” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.16″ global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n
In the dry southern reaches of the Saskatchewan prairie, a lonely house sits perched atop a hill rising out of the golden fields.<\/h2>\n
It would be easy to pass by without a second glance. But if you look closer, you can see the old railroad tracks being slowly devoured by grass and trees. And halfway up the hillside is a large stone monolith, celebrating the history of the settlement of Crichton, Sask.<\/p>\n
That memorial, that house, and the lone man living inside are the only remnants of the hamlet.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis place doesn\u2019t exist anymore,\u201d Aime Lacelle said.<\/p>\n
Lacelle is a living testament to an increasingly common phenomenon in Saskatchewan. He is the last man from Crichton \u2013 and like so many other settlements in the province, the town will end with him.
\n[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.16″ custom_padding=”0px||0px|” global_colors_info=”{}” column_structure=”2_3,1_3″][et_pb_column type=”2_3″ _builder_version=”4.16″ custom_padding=”|||” global_colors_info=”{}” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.16″ global_colors_info=”{}”]Examining the \u201cghost towns\u201d of Saskatchewan is not a straightforward task. Once communities are reduced to a low enough population, they are absorbed by the area\u2019s rural municipality and lose status as an independent population centre. As such, the provincial government does not actually have a comprehensive list of ghost towns in Saskatchewan.<\/p>\n
According to a map of Saskatchewan\u2019s ghost towns published in 1977, there were 295 such towns across the province. The map classifies 66 of those communities as having once held more than 50 people, but are now near or completely \u201cghosted.\u201d And 183 more communities that never reached a population of 50 share the same fate.
\n[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_3″ _builder_version=”4.16″ custom_padding=”|||” global_colors_info=”{}” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/cusjc.ca\/mrp\/prairieghosts\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/14\/2018\/04\/s1-portrait.jpg” show_bottom_space=”off” align_tablet=”center” align_last_edited=”on|desktop” _builder_version=”4.16″ custom_padding=”||0px|” always_center_on_mobile=”on” global_colors_info=”{}” align_phone=”center”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.16″ text_font_size=”14px” text_line_height=”1em” custom_margin=”2px||2px|” custom_padding=”2px||2px|” global_colors_info=”{}”]Aime Lacelle is the last man in Crichton. Photo by Matthew Olson.<\/em>
\n[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.16″ module_alignment=”center” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.16″ custom_padding=”|||” global_colors_info=”{}” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_code _builder_version=”4.16″ text_orientation=”center” custom_margin=”||1px|” custom_padding=”||1px|” global_colors_info=”{}”]