The Neighbourhood: Two explorers going to door to door, but nobody’s home.
If I could stop time for a moment in Kitsault’s history, I would pause it at the exact moment the new caretakers arrived in town.
It’s an incredibly emotional story—imagine uprooting your life as a pair of teachers to care for an abandoned town. AMAX had left a single caretaker behind, but one person alone couldn’t possibly keep every corner neat and orderly. When the keys were handed over, chaos was exactly what they found.
Picture walking through the neighborhood, overgrown and untouched for years. The brush in northern BC grows wildly—fast, thick, and relentless. It must have looked like a savage land. During the initial investigation, going door to door, their words captured the scene perfectly: “It was a scene of chaos.” Personal belongings were scattered everywhere, frozen in time.
With patience and determination, they salvaged what they could, moving personal items into a single “BC-box” home, now lovingly called the “Kitsault Museum.” Every piece of furniture was carefully relocated or repurposed in the upper apartments.
This was just the beginning of a long and challenging journey for the couple. They have more helping hands today, but their love for the townsite—and their unmatched dedication—has never wavered.
Wandering through an entire abandoned neighbourhood is surreal. Wade and I were emotionally beside ourselves as we dissected the streets – one by one, home after home. It’s definitely odd – who knew the sad ending for so many home owners would one day be a photographers “creative playground”.
These beautiful homes were my favourite part of the exploration. It’s absolutely staggering to think 1200 people had once lived amongst these structures. The empty shells they now are, have survived harsh wet winters and blazing heat in the summer. It’s only natural they began to show their age – in the last couple of years the homes succumbed to leaks and mould. But, like sick children – their parents stepped in.
A good portion of the buildings have been re-roofed, and a chunk of those are now in the process of full drywall rehabilitation.
The homes you see in the photos covered in moss are what the town would have looked like, when ownership was handed over. A text book case of nature taking over.
