Benjamin Tyler Coon John Marshall Davidson Ditrich Family Abraham Dodd Christopher Storrar Donaldson The Ermacora Family Sir Alexander Galt Louie and Mary Gresl William Duncan Livingstone Hardie The Livingstones George Rollingson Nicholas and Marcella Sheran William Stafford

William Stafford, the son of an English mining engineer and geologist, was born in Patna, Scotland, in 1842. After a Scottish education, he followed his father's calling. In 1867, he emigrated to Westville, Nova Scotia, to manage the coal mines of the Acadia Coal Company. In 1882, he was engaged by Sir Alexander
Galt to accompany Captain Nicholas Bryant to the West to assets coal mining possibilities there.

As the only practical coal mining engineer in the party, Stafford's counsel carried much weight when Sir Alexander and Elliott Torrance Galt and Bryant met to choose between opening a mine at Blackfoot Crossing, near modern Gleichen, or at the Coal Banks. Stafford opted for the latter because of the quality of the coal. Thus Lethbridge was born.

The actual location of the future city was dictated when, on 13 October 1882, Stafford decided to open a drift mine on the east side of the Belly (now Oldman) River at a point just north of today's CP Rail High Level Bridge.

Stafford supervised the opening of drift mines Nos. 1 to 9 and shafts Nos. 1 to 3. In 1894, he became Inspector of Mines for the District of Alberta and was followed as Mines Superintendent by William Duncan Livingstone
Hardie. By this time, Stafford had become interested in ranching and resigned from the Galt Company to follow that pursuit. A spacious ranch home, which became a community and social centre, was built in the river bottom in what is now Peenaquini Park.

William Stafford died on 12 May, 1907 and was buried in Mountain View Cemetery.

This article is extracted from Alex Johnston, Keith G. Gladwyn and L. Gregory Ellis.  Lethbridge:  Its Coal Industry (Lethbridge, Lethbridge: City of Lethbridge, 1989), Occasional Paper No. 20, The Lethbridge Historical Society.  The Heritage Community Foundation and the Year of the Coal Miner Consortium (of which the City of Lethbridge is the lead partner) would like to thank the authors for permission to reprint this material.