Top 3 Abandoned Places In Burwash

There are so many abandoned places in Burwash! This is a list of the top three abandoned places in Burwash. Browse through all abandoned places in Burwash

1. Burwash Correctional Prison

Burwash Prison was located along Highway 69. Once fully constructed, the site had the ability to house 1000 inmates but never reached full capacity.

Burwash was a completely self-sufficient town that contained a 20-bed hospital, church, school, staff townsite, power station, post office, blacksmith, tailor shop, skating rink, cemetery, hospital, barbershop, and church.

Beginnings of Burwash Prison

On September 14, 1914, the Ontario Government passed an Order in Council to establish the Burwash Industrial Farm. Four days later, the new Superintendant Clarance Fletcher Neelands, Sgt. Norman Sydney Oliver and nine inmates arrived at the Burwash Station. They set up camp and soon thereafter began constructing the first permanent building known as Camp Spruce.

In 1914 construction commenced on the 35,000 acres of land and by the end of the same year, 150 prisoners serving sentences of two years or less were transferred to Burwash.

With the First World War, came the recession. With the recession came crime. The population of inmates grew to 180.

By 1915, a small log camp had been built on the banks of the Wanapitei River and by fall, work had begun on the main camp. It was completed on January 31, 1916.

Until the construction of the cell blocks, prisoners lived in the dormitory located within the townsite.

After the construction of Burwash prison

The population continued to grow as the Guelph Reformatory was turned into a veteran's hospital and rehabilitation center. The 200 prisoners were transferred to Burwash. Burwash's population grew to over 350 men.

By 1917, a steam-powered sawmill (on Mill Lake), shingle, and 'sticker' mill were in operations. The mill produced one million feet of lumber at its peak, annually.

During the 1920s when the Christmas season arrived, the Salvation Army organized people to sing Christmas carols to the inmates.

Travel to Burwash was primarily by train as there were no roads leading to the site.

In 1933, a road built by the inmates connected the Wanapitei River with Astaire. This road now connected Burwash with other roads to Wanup, Sudbury, and Coniston. Burwash was no longer a remote isolated area. In a few years, cars were making it possible for people to visit Burwash and for staff to go shopping in Sudbury.

Once the Trans Canada Highway was built, prisoner escape attempts became more frequent and signs were posted along the highway instructing motorists not to pick up hitchhikers.

Renovations in Camp Bison

The new $2.6 million Camp Bison was officially opened in a ceremony on June 8, 1960. It accommodated 210 inmates. The name of the camp originated from the numerous wildlife that had been known to roam the property.

The closure of Burwash prison

On July 10, 1974, Ontario Minister of Correctional Services, Richard T. Potter, announced that the Burwash Correctional Centre would close. The cost to run Burwash was deemed too high, outdated equipment would be costly to replace and Burwash's closure would save the provincial government money.

The last day of operation was February 13, 1975. Residents of the estimated 175 townsite houses were told they would have to vacate their homes. Some residences took their homes with them - literally.

In 1977, a Steering Committee was established by the Ontario Government to recommend possible uses for the remaining prison complex and the 35,000 acres of land. This led to the Federal Government purchasing the property in October for $1.8 million dollars.

In July of 1979, the land was leased to the Regional Municipality of Sudbury for a goat farming operation to produce mohair.

In 1990 the government bid on 8000 acres of land to be used for military training. Some of this training involved using explosives to destroy some of the townsite's homes.

How does Burwash prison look Today?

Any buildings left on the site were bulldozed by the government in 1994.

An Ontario Heritage Trust plaque was unveiled at the site on August 6, 2006. Around 2007 the cemetery, overgrown and difficult to find, was cleaned up and a signposted to mark its location. There are an estimated 12-20 prisoners buried here many of whom had no family to bury them properly.

Parts of Burwash are still used by the Department of National Defense for training purposes.

Directions:

If you continue straight from the fork in the road you eventually end up at the railway tracks and a small railway building. Across from the tracks is an old gate and a path that leads to Camp Bison. The walk is appr

ox 3.5 miles but can be accessed by 4x4.

This location has a new owner. His name is Chris. You can still go and explore this site for a small fee. It is so worth it, as it is really, really interesting. The owners run a Resort close to this location. Here is their contact information. (Avalon Eco Resort) Web site https://avalonecoresort.com/ Address and Phone. Avalon Eco Resort 476 Highway 637 Killarney, ON P0M 2A0 (249)-805-0159

2. The Bus to Burwash

On the way to Burwash, saw this old bus buried in the ground.
It probably exists in a gallery for Burwash, but I did not see it. Relocate if so.
Thought it was cool enough to have its own location.

3. Railroad Tie Building

While driving around Burwash with some friends, we came upon this Railroad Tie building (which isn(a)t too hard to miss by the way). I(a)m sure many of you have seen the building before, but hey, it(a)s still pretty cool.

I have no idea if it(a)s still being used, but there seems to be a few small rooms inside, but there is no real way in since all three sets of doors are bolted shut from the inside, and one of them has a lock on it (once again from the inside, only reachable through a hole in the "front door

new info: I was speaking with a friend who has a little bit of information about this place... through "a guy at work" he was told that this place is actually used by the police department as a "shooting range/training facility". Which is still kinda cool!