Coal! Canmore, Alberta, Canada
N 51° 06.401 W 115° 21.997
11U E 614347 N 5662957
This informative sign is displayed at the Canmore Visitor's Center.
Waymark Code: WMC8H2
Location: Alberta, Canada
Date Posted: 08/08/2011
Views: 3
Coal!
The news swept the Bow Valley: a large deposit of semi-anthracite coal had been discovered in Canmore. The C.P.r. brought them, stonge eager men willing to remove this black wealth from the ground. In dark dusty tunnels they toiled, tearing the shiny coal from the reluctant rock. Some of the coal, shaped into briquettes, heated train cars and homes, while puffing locomotives swallowed tons. Other coal towns in the area shut down-Anthracite, Bankhead and Georgetown. Soon Canmore was the only flourishing mining town in the Bow Valley. And florish it did; hotels, a boarding house, and even an opra house sprang up as the town grew...
...but then came a news flash: oil had been discovered in Turner Valley in 1914. The discovery of oil and gas killed the demand for coal. On July 13, 1979 the Canmore mine closed.
Type of Marker: Cultural
Sign Age: New Alberta Tourism Marker Style
Parking: Park in the area provided for the Canmore Visitors Centre
Placement agency: City of Canmore
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