The village of Hamton is like many Saskatchewan communities between Yorkton and Canora… still on the map, but not really there anymore.
But to say there is nothing left of Hamton is a mis-statement. It looks that way from the intersection of the grid roads to the west and south, since the triangle that was the village, between those two roads and the old rail line, is overgrown with tall weeds, shrubbery, and a few trees. Until 2018, there were buildings still standing, but abandoned and unused. Then one weekend in early May of 2018, whatever was left of the village of Hamton burned to the ground. Gone.
Was caused the fire? Mother nature? A grass fire? A controlled fire set by someone that got out of hand? Somebody must know. Yet it remains a mystery.
Story on doukhobor.org of a visit to the Doukhobor halfway house near Hamton, as mentioned in the podcast. Doukhobor.org is the Doukhobor history website of Jonathan J. Kalmakoff. Mr. Kalmakoff is the Jonathan who Ed Keyowski refers to in the podcast. Born in Canora, he is a noted historian of Doukhobor history in Saskatchewan and elsewhere.
Website of Chris Attrell, Photographer
Below, a video made by Shaunavon-based photographer Chris Attell in 2018, using his drone video footage and photos he had taken on a previous visit to Hamton in 2006.
This videos and photos below credited to Chris Attrell, Photographer, are used with the photographer's permission.
The remains of Hamton on Google Earth (2023)
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