This section explores some of the most significant
mines in Western Canada. In many Alberta and British
Columbia communities at the end of the 19th century to the
middle of the 20th century, the mine was the epi-centre of activity.
The mine was not just a place to workevery aspect of the life
of the community was impacted by it. It provided fuel and
also generated the dollars required to ensure the prosperity of
the region.
Coal mining towns were "one resource" towns
and, if the mine was exhausted, a railway branch line was moved
or it became uneconomic to mine, the mining camp or town shut
down. That is why there are many
ghost towns in the
region. Mining camps and even towns were disposable and
all mine buildings including miners' shacks could be quickly
taken down and transported to another site.
The mines were central to the life of the
community as well defining it. Town shops not only depended
on the mine to grow their business, but they also drew power and
heated their shops with the black gold. When the mine was doing
well and coal prices were good, the town prospered and often
grew. When a major
disaster occurred, everyone in the community
was affected, no matter if a family member died or not. The
politics of the mine
including management/worker conflicts often impacted on the relationships within
the community.
Politics,
safety
and the social makeup of the community differed
depending on geographic location. In the mountain mines of
the Crowsnest Pass and
Elk Valley, the coal was extremely
valuable, and as one wealthy businessman put it, the coal was
"better than the coal of Pittsburgh and as good as the coal of
Wales." But this advantage also had its drawbacksmining in the mountains
is more dangerous than mining in the plains. The worst
mining accidents in Canadian history have occurred in the mountains,
where potential dangers include rockslides and explosions.
The mines of southern Alberta and
southeastern British Columbia determined the growth of their
surrounding communities and gave each its character. Alberta
coalmining communities and their mines have been documented through a
series of local history books produced fin the 1970s and 1980s with the
encouragement and financial support of the Government of Alberta through
the Department of Alberta Culture (Alberta Culture and Multiculturalism
and later Alberta
Community Development). These are valuable resource books for
researchers and scholars and are source books for the When Coal Was
King website. Unfortunately, there are no such resources in British
Columbia and, as a result, coverage of mine sites are few..
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