The heritage markers have been placed in a small park, named
Miners Park in honor of the miners who worked the coal mines in the years from 1899 to 1983. In the park are also a memorial plaque mounted on a large boulder, a picnic table and a bear proof garbage container.
One of the markers is a standard BC Highway Tourism sign, while the other, now partially covered by a large blue spruce, was placed by the District of Sparwood. They deal with the history of the now extinct coal mining towns of Michel, Natal.
This Heritage Marker, which tells of the towns of Michel and Natal, reads as follows:
Michel - Natal
Michel was founded in 1897, named after the famous Chief Michel of the Kootenay Indians. After the CPR opened the area with its southern line, hardy miners and their families settled the valley, the men and boys working the abundant coal fields.
By 1907, settlement had spread up the valley and the village of Natal (known initially as New Michel) was established. Named after Natal, South Africa, the name was highly unpopular at first but survived the objections of the day.
Over time, Michel and Natal were joined by other neighborhood communities — Middletown, Little Chicago, "up the Valley" (the Elk Valley) and later, Sparwood.
The history of Michel and Natal is replete with tragedy. Tragedy struck the valley in mine disasters in 1904 1916 1938 and 1967; fire destroyed much of Michel in 1902, and periodic floods, severe winters and accidents tested the character of local residents. But their history is also one of community, warmth and neighborliness. Residents were not just neighbors but, in an emotional sense, family.
In the end it was the provincial government's desire to beautify the southeastern entrance to British Columbia which doomed Michel and Natal. An urban renewal project for that purpose begun in the late 1960s moved most residents to Sparwood and the old communities were bulldozed and burned.
Michel and Natal are now memories, but the spirit and story of their people lives on undimmed and undiminished by time.
District of Sparwood