Canada Post - T0K 1C0 - Hillcrest Mines, Alberta
Posted by: 
T0SHEA
N 49° 34.183 W 114° 22.692
11U E 689557 N 5494094
The Hillcrest Mines post office is in a gable roofed concrete block building at the corner of 8th Avenue and 228th Street.
Waymark Code: WMPBTF
Location: Alberta, Canada
Date Posted: 08/05/2015
Views: 5
The style is different than that of other small town post offices in southern Alberta, suggesting that it was built earlier than most, circa 1950s or 1960s. 8th Avenue was once the commercial centre of the town, but there's not much left of a commercial nature in Hillcrest Mines.
A series of small towns form the Crowsnest pass area of Southwestern Alberta, one right after the other along Highway 3, AKA the Crowsnest Highway. The sole reason for their existence was coal, which was found in abundance in the mountains of the pass. The mines are all closed now and each town ekes out an existence on tourism and whatever else it can dig up.
Situated up the hill/mountain to the south of the town of Bellevue, Hillcrest Mines is somewhat off the beaten path. It is now primarily a residential town, with all the commercial and retail outlets situated in the towns which line the Crowsnest Highway, such as Bellevue, Coleman and Blairmore.
It was the town of Hillcrest Mines (AKA Hillcrest) which experienced the worst mine disaster in Canada's history. On June 19, 1914 the Hillcrest Coal Mine experienced an explosion which killed 189 miners, leaving 130 women widowed and about 400 children fatherless. It occurred just nine days before World War I broke out and was soon forgotten by the media. The mine continued in operation until 1939, when it was closed forever.