These photos were taken during our 6oookm motorcycle trip this summer. One of our stops was Ocean Falls, British Columbia.

This Canadian Ghost Town captured my interest like no other spot on our trip and I must go back.

We explored the derelict town site, wandered through the decaying apartment buildings and hotels. Walked along the over flowing hydro dam and explored the forest which has overtaken mans sprawl leaving almost no trace of them ever being there.



Begin History Lesson:

The Heitlsuk native speaking people inhabited the coastal region surrounding Ocean Falls for more than 9,000 years. In 1903, the Bella Coola Pulp and Paper Company surveyed the area and was impressed with the hydro power potential of the site. In 1906, following the company's acquisition of 260 acres of land, clearing began for the town and three years later, a sawmill, hospital and school were established. In 1912, the dam was erected and the pulp mill began operating.

Population 1912: 250 people. Population 1950: over 3,500. Population 1970: 1,500. Population 1990: 70 (mostly loggers). Population 2008: 35 permanent residents

Several disasters struck the town in the course of the years: a major apartment fire in 1950 killed eight, a mudslide in 1965 killed seven; and although the school fire in 1971 didn't result in any serious casualties, it traumatized the little community.

Due to underinvestment in its facilities, the Ocean Falls pulp and paper mill was rendered inefficient and obsolete by the early 1970s. The owner at the time, Crown Zellerbach, decided to close the plant and effectively shut down the town by March 1973. The provincial government bought the town and mill out a few weeks before the planned closure and kept it running until 1980.

Much of the town is now demolished or in serious decay, but it maintains a devoted residential community and an extensive social network of former residents.


COPYRIGHT NOTICE:
All rights reserved © Paul Cutting.
My work shall not be reproduced, copied, edited, published, transmitted or uploaded in any way without my written permission.