The Ghost Town of Retlaw

The only place that is relatively hazardous is the Retlaw Hall, which was closed in 2013. Retlaw Hall was vandalized to the point of no repair, with shattered glass, and garbage scattered on the floors, which are also a tripping hazard due to how uneven the floors are.

Retlaw seemed to have everything a town of its size could need, a church, a pool hall, a hotel, a blacksmith, and the railway. Homesteaders first moved to the area in 1906, however in the years to come the town would soon become a hamlet rather than the flourishing town it once was. Soon after people settled in the area, harsh blizzards destroyed some of the town. The following summer, prairie fires struck and tarnished what was left of Retlaw. After this had occurred, Alberta brought irrigation to the area in the 1920s. The irrigation canal was ran near Vauxhall, a nearby town. The few stores that were left eventually started closing. Retlaw is Walter spelt backwards, honouring Walter R. Baker, a CPR official.

Retlaw has a restored church, a cemetery, a vandalized community hall, multiple signs indicating where old buildings were, and even a relatively large dollhouse on the side of the road with “Rolling Green” on the front in wooden letters.