F.M. THOMPSON CO. LTD. BUILDING
For seventy years F.M. Thompson Company Limited, later Thompson's Family Clothing, served the citizens of the Crowsnest Pass from this building.
Established as a general store in Lille in 1908 by FM. Thompson and F.M. Pinkney, pioneer merchants of the area, the business served a thriving coal mining town. When the mine shut down in 1912 the townsite was abandoned and F.M. Thompson and Co. re-located to Blairmore's Main (then Victoria) Street. Blairmore had by 1908 become the primary commercial centre of the Pass. The business moved to this building in 1919 after a fire destroyed the original wood framed premises.
Over its eight decades of retail service this traditional Albertan family business continually adapted to meet ever-changing times. The boom and bust cycles of the coal mining industry created social and economic instabilities marked by mine closures, shutdowns and labor unrest.
Many families were carried through difficult times by extensions of credit and requests to "put it on the bill". "The Quality Store" that sold "Everything to Eat and Everything To Wear" successfully weathered these turbulent times that were followed by the boom of the Second World War and ended with the decline of the coal industry in the 1950's and 60's. Known as Thompson's Family Clothing in recent years, the business closed its doors in 1989 ending four generations of family service that began soon after Alberta became a province in the age of steam and ended in the jet age on the eve of the twentieth century.
The building, constructed by E.J. Pozzi in 1919, was rehabilitated by the Alberta Main Street Programme in 1989.
Learn more about Crowsnest Heritage