Galt Companies Lethbridge Colliery McGillivray Creek Coal and Coke Co. Spokane and Alberta Coal and Coke

Coleman Journal, March 15, 1922:

Grading to the new coal mine, a short distance south east of Crowsnest, is practically completed and just as soon as the weather conditions are suitable the steel will be laid and things will hum. The coal is said to be exceptionally good for steam purposes and can be easily mined. The company which owns the property and which will develop same is known as Spokane and Alberta Coal and Coke Co. of which Mr. Ashburner is Superintendent and Mr. Armstrong of Spokane is General Manager.

Coleman Journal, December 28, 1922:

"Something to crow about at Crowsnest"

In the new coal mining company Crowsnest has something worth crowing about. The Spokane and Alberta Coal and Coke Co. are spending considerable money in developing their property southeast of Crowsnest. It is understood that soon a large number of miners will be engaged on the property and that coal will be shipped out in large quantities before the winter is over.

A spur line of about five miles is being built from the coal property to connect with the Crow main line of the C.P.R. The construction is being done by Grant Smith and McDonnell Co. of Calgary.

The huge undertaking is being financed mainly by Spokane capitalists. L. K. Armstrong is general manager and the company's headquarters for the present are at Spokane but later they will likely be moved to Crowsnest.

The opening up of this property will revolutionize the industrial and commercial life of Crowsnest and will also prove a great boon to Coleman and other nearby towns.

Coleman Journal, February 22, 1923:

On Tuesday Harry Boulton visited the new coal mine near Crowsnest Lake. Harry reports that the grade for the spur-line to the mine is practically completed, there being only about 25 feet of rock to blast. At present there are over 100 men working on the property and there are good prospects for extensive development work being done this spring.

Editor's Note:

Although the rail grade was completed and some ties laid, the rails were never put down. The demand for coal had lessened and the project was abandoned. Later Coleman Collieries acquired the property and opened it as an open pit mine called Tent Mountain Mine. For many years now (1978) it has been one of the main sources of export coal to Japan by Coleman Collieries. The original railroad grade is used as a truck-haul road connecting Tent Mountain Mine with Crowsnest 3 and on to the processing plant in Coleman.

This article is extracted from Crowsnest and its People: Millennium Edition (Coleman, Alberta, Crowsnest Pass Historical Society, 2000). The Heritage Community Foundation and the Year of the Coal Miner Consortium would like to thank the authors and the Crowsnest Pass Historical Society for permission to reprint this material.