Once a thriving farming community with shops, a railway station and two churches – Solsgirth is now a near-forgotten settlement.
asserted
Solsgirth → thrive → shops
Eerie pictures reveal what the previously busy spot in Manitoba, Canada now looks like, with just a handful of households calling it home as of 2021.
asserted
handful → reveal → 2021
Resident Garry Workman told the Manitoba Co-Operator at the time: 'Once a bustling thoroughfare of businesses, homes and residents, a mere three families now live in the village, counting myself as a family.'
He moved back to Solsgirth in 1962 after his father's death and worked in agriculture, but the population has dwindled to almost nothing over the years.
asserted
population → tell → years
Located along the Yellowhead Highway, south of Riding Mountain National Park, there are deserted houses, overgrown gardens and a church where a calendar remains stuck on September 2002, leaving the 'ghost town' frozen in time.
asserted
calendar → locate → time
The hamlet was originally situated around six miles north of its present position and known as Toddburn.
asserted
hamlet → situate → Toddburn
It moved after the railway changed its planned route.
asserted
railway → move → route
Photographer Dave Conlon, who captured images of the derelict area, said: 'The whole town picked up and followed it.'
Solsgirth is a near-forgotten settlement in in Manitoba, Canada but was once a thriving community
Two churches still stand and wooden pews and religious books have been left behind inside
Just three families called the area home in 2021 after the settlement's population depleted over time
There are various disused buildings still standing, including St Stephen's Anglican Church, which was built in 1906.
asserted
which → capture → 1906
The property now sits untouched, with religious books still inside including an old Oxford Holy Bible, resting on a red-covered surface, as well as wooden pews.
asserted
property → sit → surface
Holy Ghost Ukrainian Catholic Church, which was converted from a former schoolhouse which closed in 1958, can also be found.
asserted
which → convert → 1958
Its distinctive domes were handcrafted by Michael 'Mike' Swistun, a local carpenter who once performed as the world's strongest man with a circus.
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who → handcraft → circus
Both churches held their final services just four months apart in 2002 and 50 current and former parishioners reportedly gathered to say goodbye.
uncertain
parishioners → hold → goodbye
St Stephen's Anglican Church was sold to the Prairie Mountain Regional Museum for just one Canadian dollar (50p), although plans to relocate the building never materialised.
asserted
plans → sell → building
Meanwhile, the Holy Ghost Ukrainian Catholic Church was eventually sold to private buyers who planned to turn it into a home.
asserted
who → sell → home
Historical records indicate the proposed conversion had not been completed when the site was inspected in 2016.
asserted
site → indicate → 2016
Some of Solsgirth's old houses are barely visible behind trees and waist-high grass and a few have been left with belongings still inside.
asserted
few → leave → belongings
Many of the remaining buildings have been left to rot and are barely visible behind trees
A calendar left stuck on September 2002 still hangs on a wall in one property
Belongings have been left in some buildings, including a television and other items
Inside one neglected property, an extraordinary collection of items can be seen scattered across the floor.
asserted
collection → remain → floor
An old television sits above a washing machine, while framed pictures, household objects and assorted clutter fill the room.
asserted
pictures → sit → room
Another room contains a colourful mountain of baseball caps.
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room → contain → caps
The area once had its own shops and school, but many of those everyday services eventually vanished.
asserted
many → have → services
It's a far cry from the thriving community remembered by older residents, when Solsgirth was a busy stop along the railway.
asserted
Solsgirth → thrive → railway
The village's decline reflects a wider transformation of Canada's farming communities, as agricultural operations grew larger and families increasingly travelled to bigger towns leaving places like Solsgirth to fade into the past.
asserted
families → reflect → past
The Aporia
