We might not be the sharpest knives in the drawer, but we know the setting of a Scooby-Doo mystery when we see one. Say hello to Butedale, a ghost town in BC’s Great Bear Rainforest that recently went up for sale. Curious about how you sell a town, and who you sell it to? So were we! Let’s check it out.
Accounts vary, but Butedale was established during the 1910s as a fishing, mining and logging camp. The size of the town was steady throughout the first half of the 20th century, peaking at around 400 residents during the summertime. However, the shutdown of the local salmon cannery during the 1950s saw the town all but fade away.
Since then, a number of parties have tried to revive the town for various purposes. The most recent name (and the current owner) is the Inside Passage Marine Corporation. According to an earlier proposal, Inside Passage was trying to get the nearby hydroelectric dam up and running the power the area. Of course, the fact that they’re now selling it means that probably isn’t an easy (or cheap) task.
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So, what does buying this ghost town get you? Good question. First up, you’ll get around 30 acres of ‘freehold land’, which means you’re the sole owner.
This land includes a 300-foot waterfall and the (now all but destroyed) original townsite. Driving a boat in? You also get around 28 acres of deepwater ocean, to park your hyper-yacht in.
Meanwhile, there are another 64 acres that are leased and ‘rights of way’ land, which essentially means people can come and go around them as they please.
However, since this property is only accessible via floatplane, helicopter, or boat, we doubt you’ll have to worry about too many campers around there.
Now, for the real kicker. Butedale is located on Princess Royal Island, which is literally the home of the Spirit (aka Kermode) Bear. A subspecies of the brown bear, some Kermode Bears feature an all-white fur due to a gene that blocks the production of melanin. These bears are really only seen on three islands, and Princess Royal is the cream of the crop.
What’s our hope? That’s easy. We want one of our uber-rich readers to figure out how much this is worth, make the purchase, and then set up a hut that they kayak to. Even better, give the land back to relevant Indigenous peoples, on the condition that they let you visit just to hang out every once in a while. Anything but beachside condos.
For more information on this incredible ghost town for sale in the Great Bear Rainforest, just click here!
