Spring-Summer 2008

If Only They Could Talk

Allen Lefebvre

The great plains of North America encompass a significant portion of our continent, including major parts of both the United States and Canada. Over the last 100 years, the expansion of agriculture has played a significant role in the growth of both countries and has forever changed the plains landscape. A rapid expansion of the population in rural areas was followed by an equally rapid depopulation as migration to urban centres accelerated in recent decades.

I make my home in the northern tip of the plains in the heart of the Canadian prairies. In the early 1900s my ancestors made their home here, one branch migrating from Quebec, and the other from Western Europe following brief stops in Texas and Missouri. They became homesteaders, hardy folk who were the first to break the prairie soil and cultivate the land. 

From this personal history comes my abiding interest in photographing abandoned homesteads and vanishing buildings. Each speaks of lives lived and lost, of families arriving and leaving within just a few generations. These once thriving homesteads are now only decaying buildings returning to the earth. 

I wish they could talk; what stories they could tell.

Click on photos for enlargements.

Fairview United Church

No longer used as an active church, this building is still lovingly maintained by the few remaining members of the community. I photographed the building in late evening, lit by spotlights in order to include the expansive, starlit prairie sky. The adjacent cemetery includes a fascinating collection of recent graves alongside those dating from the turn of the century. Situated on a slight hill unencumbered by trees, the site has an amazing view of the surrounding prairie.

South of Foam Lake, SK

Rough-hewn logs chinked with a mixture of mud, straw, and manure was a style of construction often used in early homes, particularly those of Eastern European descent.   Contrasted with the presence of a more modern tractor tire, this site speaks to its continued use until recent decades.


Near Zehner, SK

Another example of the chinked log construction, I photographed this location on several occasions over the years. On my last visit, this building had almost completely collapsed.


West of Regina, SK

Built more recently, this home was made using wood frame construction and is still in relatively good shape. But the peeling paint and falling plaster reflect the increasing decay since it was abandoned.

Text and photos copyright © 2008. Allen Lefebvre. All rights reserved.