It is with mixed emotions in our town that City Council has proposed to hire an American company to tear down Souris Valley.
the demolition project
Deemed a Historic Site, this city has done nothing to care for the property while it was still in use, nor when they moved to a new facility.
This video, although just a film student's imagination, shows what the building looks like today. And this is only part of it!
Souris Valley in 2007
Souris Valley Extended Care Centre was Canada's largest mental hospitals. It was home to LSD testing, electrocution, boiling and freezing therapies, etc...
Recognizing the need for a second hospital for the treatment of the mentally ill in Saskatchewan, the Weyburn Hospital Act was proclaimed March 11, 1911. Construction did not start until 1919 and the Saskatchewan Hospital, as it was called, officially opened on December 29, 1921 and was by far the largest building in Saskatchewan at the time. The building had a capacity of 900 patients, 60 nurses, and 60 attendants. The future addition of the two rear wings increased the capacity to 1,800 patients and staff. The facility has a reputation of leading the way in therapeutic programming.
There are horror stories as to what really happened there. Staff from days ago can't wait for the destruction of a building which holds so many secrets. The "ghosts" will be left homeless, or perhaps be set free of the abuse they suffered.
These grounds were immaculate in their day. Gazebos, picnic tables, a therapeutic animal park, gardens, tree lined approach. The grounds were also burial grounds for the residents "treasures" and people were known to "treasure hunt" to see what the mentally challenged people would hoard away.
There are tunnels underneath the facility that lead to the old nurses quarters so that staff wouldn't have to be outside in the dark. The tunnel door would lock automatically once inside so that if a patient got in there, they couldn't escape. The asbestos in the pipes and the damp and murky smell often left me wondering if going outside to face a wolf or skunk might be the better of options.
To me, I see demolishing this building to be heartbreaking no matter what the history. Pain and heartache are imminent but the people who were residents who endured the tortures and the pain....you kow, alot of their pain may have been from the abandonment they had from their families when they were sent there. Take my great cousin Bobby for example. At 8 years old he had a fall which left him in a 2 year old state. His parents couldn't deal with it and sent him to SVECC. They said godbye to him at their farm 4 1/2 hours away when a couple of men picked him up. It was the last time they saw him. That was 60 years ago! Both parents have since died....Bobby still lives.
I joined the facebook group to show my support but it looks like we, the people, are too late. It saddens me that the spot where I had once wanted to share wedding vows, where my brother had his wedding pics taken, will not be there for my grandchildren to see. That pictures I show them will not do it justice.
RIP Souris Valley.... 
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