Coalspur, Alberta

Coalspur is an abandoned coal-mining community in Yellowhead County, Alberta. Situated in the Alberta foothills, the community was home to a substantial coal mine, and acted as a transportation hub for the Alberta Coal Branch. The community began after a group of British financiers founded the Yellowhead Pass Coal and Coke Company in 1912.^[1] The original mine employed 70 men, produced 500 tons a day, and witnessed the development of a small community.

At the peak of production the mine employed 400 men, although by 1950 production was intermittent.^[2] A massive underground fire occurred in 1915, hampering production.^[3] The community exists yet today, and is inhabited by a dozen or so residents.

One of the earliest oil wells in the central Alberta foothills was drilled near Coalspur. In 1924 Imperial Oil sank a test well near the community, and discovered a significant flow of natural gas that was used to heat boilers in the camp. No commercial quantity of petroleum was found however, and drilling ceased in the area.^[4]

References

1. ^ Fryer, Harold. Ghost Towns of Alberta. Langley: Stagecoach Publishing Company, 1976. Pages 148-149.
2. ^ Fryer, Harold. Ghost Towns of Alberta. Langley: Stagecoach Publishing Company, 1976. Pages 150.
3. ^ Ghost Towns of Alberta Retrieved February 8, 2008
4. ^ Ralph L. Rutherford, Geology of the Foothills Belt between McLeod and Athabaska Rivers, (Edmonton: King's Printer, 1925), 60.

See also

Coordinates: 53°10′58″N 117°00′58″W / 53.18278°N 117.01611°W / 53.18278; -117.01611