Reesor, the Ghost Hamlet

Established in 1925 by a small community of Mennonite refugees from Europe, the hamlet of Reesor (not to be confused with Reesor Siding, 2 miles away) is named after Thomas Reesor, an influential person of the time. But Reesor is little known these days, except for his abandoned barns and houses that crumble in the middle of nowhere.

The history of the hamlet begins when Jacob Toews and Jacob Heinrichs escape Ukraine and Russia and decide to travel to the other side of the world, to Canada, then take the railroad ... and finally disembark here!

Tired by this long journey, they discover lands untouched by human activity and decide to settle there. Families joined them a few months later, including Mennonites and French Canadians drawn to the exploitation of the clay soil. The hamlet took shape in the 1930s. It acquired a school and a store.

There is also a blacksmith's workshop, a car garage, a billiard room, a cemetery and even a newspaper, the Acta Nostra (Our Acts). There were up to 120 inhabitants at the time. But the boom will be short-lived. The decline began in the 1940s as traders closed shop and farmers moved elsewhere, to greener grass. The hamlet is on its last breath in the 1970s.

Nowadays you will see many ruins of abandoned buildings in Reesor, as well as a small cemetery.