Nordegg, Alberta
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Nordegg is a hamlet in the mountains of Clearwater County, west-central Alberta, Canada.
It is located in the North Saskatchewan River valley in the foothills of the Canadian Rockies, at the crossroad of David Thompson Highway and the Highway 734 spur of the Bighorn Highway.
[edit] History
The community was initially founded as a coal mining town in the early 1900s and is named after Martin Nordegg, a representative of a German development company. The town was a joint venture between the German firm and the Canadian Northern Railway. The coaling operation was named Brazeau Colleries, after the nearby Brazeau River.
In 1914, as World War I broke out, German assets in Canada were frozen, and Nordegg himself was asked to leave Canada. However, the town retained its name, unlike many other German-named towns in Canada during this time.
Coal production at Nordegg continued until 1955, at which time declining demand for coal from railway operators, due to a switch to diesel locomotives, drove the operation out of business.
[edit] Nordegg today
During its peak, Nordegg was a town of over 3000. After the closure of the mine most of the population left, and today there are only a few hundred people remaining. Most of the surface coal processing operation is still standing. In 1993 it was declared a Pronvicial Historic Resource, and in 2002 a National Historic Site. The original Nordegg town site is open to the public. At the mine site, visitors may experience a guided tour of the coal handling, processing and support facilities during the summer tourist season. Tourists should keep in mind that actual entrance into the underground mine itself is no longer possible or allowed, as time has caused the contents to collapse, thereby rendering a tour impossible.
A land exchange with the Province of Alberta has stimulated redevelopment of Nordegg. A mountain acreage community is developing north of Highway 11, adjacent to the Shunda Creek Hostel, and Clearwater County has released plans for the redevelopment of downtown Nordegg, much on the footprint of the original townsite.
Nordegg is now associated with tourism and recreation, primarily because of its location near to so many parks and recreations areas, for example Ram Falls Provincial Park, the Kootenay Plains Ecological Reserve and the dozens of small campsites along the David Thompson Highway. The distinctive Coliseum and Shunda (Baldy) Mountains overlook Nordegg and are rewarding day-hikes.
Nordegg is the last community on the David Thompson Highway before reaching Banff National Park to the west. The area west of Nordegg is known as the Bighorn Backcountry, and includes many excellent hiking trails.
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