Latest news with #smallesttown
National Post
22-05-2025
- General
- National Post
Final four residents of the 'smallest town in Canada' set to relocate
A Newfoundland community that bills itself as the smallest town in Canada will soon be empty, and former residents say they'll never forget their joyful years living there. Article content Tilt Cove, N.L., was once home to a thriving copper mine that attracted workers and their families from all over Canada. Now the community is home to just four people, all of whom agreed earlier this year to relocate. Article content Article content Shirley Severance was born in Tilt Cove in 1941. She watched the town grow when the Maritime Mining operation reopened in 1957, and she watched it shrink again in 1967 when the mine shut down for good. Article content Article content '(The company) built houses and they had a recreation centre, a curling rink and a bowling alley,' Severance said in an interview Wednesday. 'There was a hall where we used to have dances. We were teenagers, and we would go there after supper and dance to the jukebox.' Article content 'I loved it there,' Severance added. 'I miss living there.' Article content Tilt Cove is near the southeastern tip of Newfoundland's Baie Verte Peninsula, about 340 kilometres northwest of St. John's. The community is spread along the shores of small circular lake framed by rocky hills and a clearing that leads to the Atlantic Ocean. Article content Article content Visitors often take and share photos of the community's sign. 'Tilt Cove: Smallest town in Canada,' it says. 'Population: 4.' The copper mine opened in 1864 and operated intermittently until 1967. In the year before it closed for good, 436 people lived in the community, according to provincial statistics. By 1991, just 17 were left. Article content In 2023, the few remaining residents voted unanimously to take advantage of the Newfoundland and Labrador government's community relocation policy. The program offers homeowners in towns that have voted to resettle between $250,000 and $270,000 to move away. Article content The province made an offer to the four permanent homeowners in Tilt Cove in January, the Department of Municipal Affairs said in an email. Residents decided on a relocation date of March 31, but a grace period was offered until their new homes are ready, the department said. Discussions are ongoing about when electricity and other services in the town will be cut off. Article content Collette Barthe said it's sad the town has come to an end, but she understands that without the mine, there isn't much reason for anybody to stay. The 76-year-old from New Brunswick moved to Tilt Cove with her family when she was five, and they lived there until she was 16. Article content Like Severance, Barthe recalled a vibrant social life for families and their kids. There were community barbecues and Labour Day parades, she said in an interview. In the winter, the lake would freeze over and the mining company would turn it into a skating rink and place a massive Christmas tree in its centre.
CBC
19-05-2025
- General
- CBC
Residents of 'Canada's smallest town' are moving out
Tilt Cove had a population of four. But those residents are relocating and the town is no more 15 hours ago Duration 3:40 It was Canada's smallest town, with just four people calling it home. Tilt Cove, on the Baie Verte Peninsula, will have that title no more. The CBC's Troy Turner visited the community and talked to one of the residents saying goodbye and relocating. Social Sharing It's the little things that Don Collins will miss. Daily reminders of seclusion and isolation from his hometown in Tilt Cove, N.L. Feeding birds on his front deck. Exploring the area in his recreational vehicle. Birds and seals catching their next meal. Life for the mayor of Tilt Cove is idyllic. But that's all about to change. The people of Tilt Cove, all four of them, are relocating. "I figured I was going to be here till the last of it — till the end," Collins told CBC News. "But time takes a toll on everybody. And the older you get, the faster time goes on." Collins moved to Tilt Cove when he was six. And he hasn't left. He's been living in the same house for 45 years. It's where he and Margaret raised their family. A home he practically rebuilt in the time he's been there. Only two couples — siblings who married siblings — live in the secluded community, nestled under the copper-stained hills, a constant reminder of the mine that once flourished. Surrounded by hills on three sides, and the ocean on the other, there are only a dozen or so homes remaining in Tilt Cove. Some are old saltbox designs, some were dragged up to the pond from the nearby ocean decades ago, while others are modern bungalows, including the homes of the two remaining couples. Newfoundland and Labrador is cutting the power to the homes once the move is complete. It's a sore point for Collins, who figures the power should continue to the town given there are other part-time residents. As part of the relocation, the two families received compensation, but the province wouldn't say how much, citing privacy and confidentiality. It's not something Collins likes to talk about. "It torments after a while, because it's not something you want to do, but you're going to do it because of health reasons. And winter, the winter is difficult," he said. The two families are moving to King's Point, located in southwestern Green Bay, on the same coastline as the town they're leaving behind. They chose the area to rent their new homes because of existing family connections, amenities and proximity to health care. "We were lucky enough to strike on the place that we did get," Collins said. "I got another brother-in-law coming home and sister, and they're coming over to live in King's Point. So that way we'd still be together." As long the road is passable, he says he'll continue to come back. "It's out of the question not to be able to come back," he said. "I want to be here. This is where my ashes is going to come.… This is where I wants to die." There are three graveyards in Tilt Cove. One sits on the mountain behind the Collins' family home, high above the rest of the community. The people in those graves are something Collins thinks of often. "Every now and then, some memory will come along and I'll say, 'Oh, that's another one left behind.' Memories is the hardest, that's the hard part — the memories."
Daily Mail
07-05-2025
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE Inside the remote Nebraska town that only has ONE resident
A travel writer has shared a glimpse into the smallest town in America... which has only one resident - an 89-year-old woman who serves as the mayor, librarian, bartender, treasurer and sheriff. Seth Varner, 25, a photographer and author from Wahoo, Nebraska, has dedicated the last five years to documenting every town in his home state. Along the way, he discovered Monowi: an abandoned town with only one remaining resident. That's right, at 89-years-old, Elsie Eiler is the one and only person living in the remote village, and she has dedicated her life to keeping it going. Seth - who has visited Monowi eight times now - explained that it was once a booming town that was filled with multiple storefronts, restaurants, and homes, as well as a school, railroad, and prison. In the 1930s, approximately 150 people called Monowi home. But according to Seth, people began to leave the 'agricultural hamlet' during the rural-to-urban shift, and it's now 'essentially a ghost town.' One woman stayed: Elsie, who is the last remaining Monowi resident and singlehandedly keeps the town afloat. 'From what I can tell, she manages all municipal planning (including securing state funding and power for Monowi's four streetlamps) by herself,' Seth dished. There's no stores left in the town so Seth theorized that she goes to the neighboring villages to get groceries. She spends her days managing the two remaining businesses: the local tavern and the library. 'Folks who visit Monowi nowadays primarily chat with Elsie and have a meal or a drink at the Monowi Tavern,' Seth dished. 'She's owned it since 1971, and she makes a mean burger. All that's left is the tavern, "Rudy's Library," the former collection of books owned by her husband, Rudy, who passed away in 2004, and a collection of abandoned homes, storefronts, and even the church that Elsie got married in. 'Most visits only take an hour or so, since it's essentially a ghost town with a population of one.' According to Seth, Elsie loves having visitors, and you can usually catch her in the tavern cooking up meals for the tourists and reminiscing about what Monowi was during its prime. 'She's always happy to sit down and chat with visitors and talk about the days of old Monowi,' he shared. 'She will gladly welcome and talk to anybody who wants to know more about Monowi. 'She's got a lot of wit, and despite being semi-private, she says that she always enjoys the company of those who visit here. 'She's very down-to-earth, and for lack of a better word, she has a "no B.S." kind of elderly woman's attitude.' Elsie spoke to BBC back in 2020 about what it's really like to run the town by herself. At the time, she explained that she holds mayoral elections every year. She then casts a vote for herself - and as the only resident, she always wins. 'When I apply to the state for my liquor and tobacco licenses each year, they send them to the secretary of the village, which is me,' she said. 'So, I get them as the secretary, sign them as the clerk and give them to myself as the bar owner. 'I'm happy here. I grew up here, I'm used to this and I know what I want. It's just hard to change after so many years.'
