Sask Hauntings

Most people only know about the Woodlawn cemetery in Saskatoon. Others also know about the Nutana heritage cemetery. But most do not know about the other heritage cemetery. The Smithville or Summerdale Cemetery is located west of the city. This heritage graveyard is small in size but dates back to 1901 - maybe earlier. On occasion it is still used but it does not see much activity these days unless you are talking paranormal. I spent an evening photographing in this cemetery for a  project and I have to say it was uncomfortable. There are very few cemeteries in this province that make me uncomfortable but this one did. After talking to some people I found out there are stories attached to it. People have seen lights, heard noises, some voices and some have seen unexplained mists. So why not take a walk around a this cemetery and see for yourself.

I have decided to make a post about a very unique historic cemetery in the province. It is a Jewish Cemetery and what makes it unique is the "grave houses." The cemetery features many old graves dating back to 1902 and has about 60 graves. Some of these graves have grave houses which are rare for Saskatchewan Jewish cemeteries.  This style of graves reflect an Eastern European traditional influence. When I first found this cemetery I was intrigued at first by the houses. I had never seen anything like it and could not believe how many there were and different styles. Some were even updated to modern metal siding. The Jewish families have all moved away in the last 100 years leaving this cemetery the only remains of their settlement. So why grave houses? Well some believe that they were built to keep animals and livestock away, keep the rain off, provide shade, comfort to the dead spirit and providing a home for the spirit of the dead are just some theories. Whatever the ...

Recently in the news they have been talking about Nutana, an area of Saskatoon and how the ground has been shifting. This is one of the oldest areas in Saskatoon which in turn means it has the oldest cemetery. A heritage cemetery that was started in 1903.   The reason I find this cemetery interesting is its history. This cemetery is located on the edge of the river. Of course being on the edge of the river means that the ground shifts and the riverbank can collapse because of water erosion. Not only has this river bank collapsed 3 times but the coffins were floating down the river. Yes, it's true. I have spoken to people that remember the most recent collapse in 1984. The bank collapsed and the graves closest to the river fell into the river. Coffins floated down the river that day. With all this ground shifting again, could this happen again? When something like this happens where there is so much disturbance to the graves, it makes me think that this would upset the spiri...

Weyburn Mental Hospital, Saskatchewan Hospital, Souris Valley Extended Care - whatever name you call it this hospital was a large mental institution. Built in the kirkbride architecture style this building was one of the largest in the commonwealth when it was built in 1920. The hospital officially opened in 1921 and had room for 900 patients and 120 staff. The hospital was self sufficient with houses for nurses, power plant, main building, farming, water tower, etc. This building is rich in history both good and bad. The use of LSD testing and treatments like lobotomy, electroshock and hydrotherapy were controversial.  People admitted here were of any age that had mental illnesses but at one point they started accepting people that maybe did not want to deal with their relatives of any age, maybe because they had a stroke or something else not related to mental illness - this lead to overcrowding at the hospital. With this much history and hundreds of people living in ...

Garden of flowers & headstones Old road down the Cemetery I lived in Moose Jaw for a while and loved the history in the town. While I was there I discovered the Historic Heritage Cemetery. The cemetery was established in 1889 and in the middle of it there is an old chapel made of brick, stone & stucco-clad chapel that was built in 1911. T he heritage value of the Moose Jaw Cemetery lies in the architecture of the Milford Funeral Chapel. Built in 1911, the chapel was designed by local architect R.G. Bunyard who also designed many of Moose Jaw’s commercial, institutional and public buildings between 1906 and 1929. The chapel exhibits Gothic Revival elements such as buttresses and a steeply pitched gable roof. This roof overshadows a small, but prominent hip roof bell tower that surmounts the gable roof of a porch. Upper portions of the chapel feature mock half-timbering and stucco typical of the Tudor Revival style. The chapel also has basement racks ...