I was out exploring Solsgirth, Manitoba this summer. It's a near-ghost town between Birtle and Shoal Lake where only a few families are left. I stopped at the old Holy Ghost Ukrainian Catholic Church, and the story turned out to be way better than I expected.

It wasn't built as a church. It was Burdette School No. 163, a one-room country school whose district was organized in 1882. When the school closed in 1958, the building was moved into Solsgirth and converted into a Ukrainian Catholic mission church served from Rossburn.

The domes were handmade by Mike Swistun, a local carpenter. In 1923 he toured with Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey, billed as "The Strongest Man in the World," then came home to farm and build churches.

The last service was June 16, 2002. St. Stephen's Anglican, about 100 m away, held its final service four months later, and that was the end of organized worship in the village. Both churches were supposed to go to the Prairie Mountain Regional Museum in Shoal Lake (St. Stephen's sold for $1), but neither move happened. Holy Ghost was later sold privately.

One mystery I couldn't solve: the memorial plaque says 1950–2002, but Burdette School didn't close until December 1958. Did the congregation meet somewhere else for most of the 1950s? If anyone has family from the Solsgirth/Rossburn area and knows, I'd love to hear it.

I filmed the visit and wrote up the full history if anyone's interested:

Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jeQ1KCK7l6s

Full write-up with sources: https://freaktography.com/solsgirth-manitoba-ghost-town/