Coalspur, Alberta
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Coalspur is an abandoned coal-mining town in Yellowhead County, Alberta. Situated in the Alberta foothills, the town was home to a substantial coal mine, and acted as a transportation hub for the Alberta Coal Branch. The town began after a group of British financiers founded the Yellowhead Pass Coal and Coke Company in 1912.[1] The original mine employed 70 men, produced 500 tons a day, and witnessed the development of a small town.
At the peak of production the mine employed 400 men, although by 1950 production was intermittent.[2] A massive underground fire occurred in 1915, hampering production.[3] The town exists yet today, and is inhabited by a dozen or so residents.
One of the earliest oil wells in the central Alberta foothills was drilled near Coalspur. In 1924 Imperial Oil sank a test well near the town, and discovered a significant flow of natural gas that was used to heat boilers in the camp. No commercial quantity of petroleum was found however, and drilling ceased in the area.[4]
[edit] References
- ^ Fryer, Harold. Ghost Towns of Alberta. Langley: Stagecoach Publishing Company, 1976. Pages 148-149.
- ^ Fryer, Harold. Ghost Towns of Alberta. Langley: Stagecoach Publishing Company, 1976. Pages 150.
- ^ [Ghost Towns of Alberta] Retrieved February 8, 2008
- ^ Ralph L. Rutherford, Geology of the Foothills Belt between McLeod and Athabaska Rivers, (Edmonton: King's Printer, 1925), 60.
[edit] See Also
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