Prairie Past

07/22/2026

Have you visited PrairiePast.com lately? 👀

We've given our homepage a fresh new look, and we're constantly adding new historic sites, abandoned places, museums, churches, ghost towns, photos, videos, and stories from across Saskatchewan. There's always something new to discover, so stop by and see what you've been missing!

We’re a couple from Saskatchewan documenting abandoned places, rural churches, museums, and hidden architecture across the Prairies through photography and urban exploration.

07/21/2026

This is the second school in Parry, Saskatchewan, built in 1956. A five-room school was built to centralize multiple schoolhouses in the area, including Wagner, Rock Spring, Hawthorne, Long Creek Valley, Willow Creek, and Dummer. It opened in 1957 and, we believe, closed in the 1980s. It looks like it was sold to a private owner and demolished in the 2010s.

07/20/2026

A little to the right.....

07/19/2026

With a small population remaining, the hamlet of Orkney is a quiet reminder of Saskatchewan's prairie past. Standing at its heart is St. Mary's Anglican Church, a simple wood-frame building constructed in 1929 by local volunteers just a few years after the community was founded. Today, it remains one of the last visible reminders of a once-thriving railway settlement.

Join us as we explore this small but fascinating prairie church and the history it has quietly witnessed for nearly a century. More history on our website - link in comments!

07/18/2026

Did you know there is an elevator row you can visit on the Prairies?

The Inglis Grain Elevators National Historic Site in Manitoba is home to the last remaining row of standard country grain elevators in Canada. Once, more than 5,500 grain elevators dotted the Prairie landscape. Today, this remarkable row of five wooden elevators stands as a rare reminder of an era when these towering structures were the heart of every farming community.

Often called the "Prairie cathedrals," the Inglis elevators are a must-see destination for anyone interested in Prairie history, photography, road trips, or grain elevator heritage. Have you visited them yet?

07/17/2026

Ready for another postcard from my (Alicia) great-grandma's collection? This one is a prairie scene of a field with the grain elevators in Prongua, Saskatchewan.

07/16/2026

This is the abandoned Sibbald Motors Ltd. building in Conquest, Saskatchewan.

It served as a dealership for General Motors brands, including Pontiac, Buick, Chevrolet, and Oldsmobile. For a while, it also functioned as a local gas station for several decades before closing.

07/15/2026

Most people know it as the "Witch House" because the design looks like a house wearing a witch hat. But what many don't realize is that this iconic Saskatchewan landmark is a catalogue home.

It comes from the 1910 Radford Ideal Homes catalogue (based in Chicago), Design No. 105. For just $5, prairie settlers could purchase the blueprints and build this distinctive home themselves.

More than a century later, the house still stands on the prairie, its unique silhouette earning it one of the most recognizable nicknames in Saskatchewan.

07/14/2026

Some abandoned houses are interesting. Others are unforgettable.

Known by many as the "Witch House," this mysterious prairie home has captured imaginations for years. With its steep roofline, lonely setting, and storybook appearance, it looks exactly like the kind of place you'd expect to find in a ghost story.

No witches. No legends. Just one of the most unique abandoned houses we've encountered on the Saskatchewan prairies.

Have you ever seen this iconic house?

To learn more and to see the inside, visit our website - link in comments.

07/13/2026

Lets move over to Manitoba for a moment!

Pleasant Plains School started as the Arsenault School in 1894 but was renamed in 1907. The school closed in 1933 as students were moved to another school. The building was used as a Mennonite church from 1939 - 1949 and was later used as a granary which is very common for many schoolhouses on the prairies. Today it sits vacant and holds heritage status in Manitoba.

We do a video walkthrough and feature more photos on our website. Link in comments!