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 Frank Slide - Frank, AB Posted by:  T0SHEA
N 49° 35.723 W 114° 24.161
11U E 687689 N 5496885
April 29, 1903 is a day never to be forgotten in Alberta's Crowsnest Pass.
Waymark Code: WM17BA5
Location: Alberta, Canada
Date Posted: 01/18/2023
Views: 3
It was early on that fateful morn when approximately 82 million tonnes, or 30 million cubic metres, of limestone boulders broke loose from Turtle Mountain and crashed into the valley below. Directly in its path was the southern end of the sleeping town of Frank, Alberta, home to most of the miners at work on the night shift in a coal mine within Turtle Mountain at the time.
Fortunately, much of the town was spared, but the slide was responsible for the deaths of an estimated ninety people. The true number of those who perished in the disaster will never be known. This was the second largest landslide in Canadian history and one of the twenty largest slides in the world.
At the time of the slide there were 20 miners hard at work in the Turtle Mountain Mine, 17 underground and 3 at the surface workings. The 3 on the surface were immediately buried by the slide, while the 17 underground were unharmed but trapped by the slide. They decided to dig themselves out and, after 13 frantic hours, popped out on the surface 50 metres above the now buried mine entrance. Rescue teams digging at the entrance below were both shocked and elated to see the miners emerge from the mountain, all unscathed by the ordeal.
As aficionados of the paranormal might expect, it appears that several of those unfortunate victims of the terrible disaster have never left, still "wandering the debris field, searching for their lost friends and loved ones".
Frank Slide
Frank Slide in Crowsnest Pass was the site of a massive rockslide in 1903 that claimed 76 lives. They never recovered most of their bodies.
Well over a century later, spirits are said to be wandering the debris field, searching for their lost friends and loved ones. Some visitors have reported feeling uncomfortable in the area, followed by cries in the wind and unexplained lantern lights at night. Spooky. The site of one of the most notable events in the history of The Pass, Frank Slide, left a deep scar on the landscape. On a chilly spring night in 1903, the town of Frank felt the ground tremble as the side of Turtle Mountain came crashing down on the sleeping town. The landslide buried about 70 to 90 people, and they never recovered their remains.
From Travel ESP
In the days following, the disaster was recorded in newspapers across North America and into Europe. Many news articles on the disaster were published in the Calgary Daily Herald, the largest nearby newspaper and the largest newspaper in Southern Alberta. The following are excerpts from the May 1, 1903 issue, two days after the disaster.
More Details and Theories From Frank
Search For Dead Stopped, Now Number
83. Terrible Work for Passengers Crossing the Debris. Calamity Discussed at Ottawa.
May 1, 1903
(From Our Own Correspondent.)
Macleod, May 1—our correspondent returned here from Frank today. All day Wednesday, and in a lessening degree since then the terrible Turtle mountain slide has been roaring and rumbling. At first the people of Frank believed the noise was caused by gaseous eruptions, but it became more and more evident that the cause was due to falling lime rocks which are slacking by exposure to the air and moisture, and in their mad downward career raise immense clouds of dust which look 1ike escaping gas. Men swear they have seen big rocks suddenly shot up into the air, but this may be accounted for by the rocks falling hundreds of feet and rebounding as they strike some jutting point.
Theorles on the Disaster.
Those who pin their opinion to the volcano or earthquake idea say it is impossible to account for huge boulders, weighing hundreds of tons, being hurled two miles across a level valley and cast up for hundreds of feet on the other side simply by their own impetus, They say nothing but a stupendous upheaval could have done it and dozens are ready to declare they not only heard but saw the first explosion.
The fact, however, that seventeen men escaped unhurt from the mine after being imprisoned proved conclusively there was no explosion in the mine itself. By mining experts the theory is advanced that the disturbance was due to the removal of a large part of the perpendicular seam of coal which cut the mountain lengthwise about one-third of its height. This support being removed the tremendous overhanging mass of limestone formation being loosened, either by slight earthquake or action of water, toppled over into the valley with a crash that shook tho country for miles.
W. McConnell, barkeeper at the Imperial, and another young man, say they heard the beginning of the upheaval, and rushing out became like everybody else, panic stricken, and started running up street away from the thunder.
The worst of the noise was over in three or four minutes, and they ventured back to the hotel. Those few minutes were long enough to fill up a peaceful valley with debris that looks 1ike the ruins of an Imperial city, and to crush out in a moment the lives of nearly a hundred sleeping men, women and children.
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Search For Bodies Stopped.
No more bodies have been found and work in that direction will be stopped, for it would be a hopeless task to remove the miles of rock which cover them hundreds of feet deep.
From the Calgary Herald Daily
Public access?:
No restrictions, the site is on both sides of Highway 3, the Crowsnest Pass.
Visting hours:
Available 24/7/365.25
Website about the location and/or story: [Web Link]
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