History of Canmore, Alberta

Black-dusted phantoms of Canmore's past
by Johnnie Bachusky

If visitors to Canmore look closely, ghosts can be found behind bushes along the scores of alpine walking trails. At first, they appear as odd and weathered slabs of concrete popping out of the ground for no good reason, or even large hunks of rusting metal scattered in alpine meadows, or lying out of place behind trees and even beside park benches.

If one is prepared to search and listen even more closely, there are countless remarkable stories being told amidst Canmore's brushes and mountain forests: each tale adding to the remarkable complete history of the town's glorious pioneer days. But sadly, for most visitors, these once vital bits and pieces of the town's heritage are largely ignored and forgotten, like fading mountain ghosts.

For almost a century, Canmore was one of the most important coal mining centres in southern Alberta: a town that grew to 3,000 spartan, salt-of-the-earth miners and their families. When Canmore Mines Ltd. ceased coal production on July 13, 1979, the town was the last coal mining centre in the Bow Valley to permanently shut its doors, following closures decades earlier in nearby Georgetown, Anthracite and Bankhead.

Canmore's moniker originates from its namesake town on the northwest shore of Scotland. It is a Celtic word meaning "Big Head" and was titled in honor of King Malcolm III of Canmore who, in 1057, killed Macbeth the usurper in a fight for the Scottish throne.

The present Alberta Rocky Mountain location was named Canmore in 1884 by Donald A. Smith, a Canadian Pacific Railway pioneer. At that time, it was only a whistle stop for the new railway, which was fast stretching west.

Settlers, however, arrived fast. Coal prospecting was vigorously pursued at Anthracite, 20 kilometers west in what is now Banff National Park. There was a frenzied copper rush further west at Silver City near the foot of Castle Mountain. And in 1886, Queen Victoria granted a coal mining charter for the Canmore area. The No. 1 Mine was opened the following year.

With the growing number of prosperity-seeking pioneers, law and order became a concern.  By the early 1890s, a detachment of the North West Mounted Police built its first barracks: a mud, log and straw structure that was constructed at a cost of $450. The barracks was vacated in 1929 and became a private residence near the present location on Main Street for the next 60 years. In 1989, it was purchased by the town and restored at a cost of $450,000.

Canmore's importance as a community and coal mining centre in the Bow Valley grew in the early years of the 20th century when Anthracite's mine closed in 1904. In fact, many buildings, along with residents were even moved to Canmore. In 1912, prospectors opened up a new coal seam on a mountain slope five kilometers west of Canmore, just east of the present Banff National Park boundary. The site was called Georgetown. Although the hamlet never grew beyond 200 citizens and survived only three years, it was a modern settlement and the envy of scores of other Alberta coal mining communities.

Married workers were housed in quaint, comfortable one and two-bedroom cottages, equipped with electricity and cold-running water. There was also a bunkhouse for single men, a combination community hall, a one-room school, mine offices, cookhouse and a fully stocked company store which also had a post office.

Although the mountainside village closed down in 1915, it had a well developed sense of community. It was an ideal setting for summer hikes and picnics and in winter, the slopes a natural site for sleigh riding, skiing and tobogganing.

When Georgetown closed, many residents simply moved to Canmore. Many buildings and houses, including the school and community hall, were transported to Canmore along the frozen Bow River. Today, a few original homes still stand in the older sections of Canmore. The Georgetown site can still be reached using the Canmore Nordic Centre trail system.

At first glance, the ghosts of the past appear to be well hidden. But just off the main trails, moss-covered ruins can be found as well as the primary mine entrance, old root cellars and scatterings of industrial scrap metal. According to old newspaper stories, quoting now-deceased former Georgetown residents, there is an abandoned cemetery hidden somewhere deep in the alpine brush.

When Georgetown closed, it left only Canmore and Bankhead as the only viable mining centres left in the Bow Valley. But Bankhead closed in 1922 and Canmore was once again a destination point for out-of-work miners and their families.

For more than a half century, the Canmore mines and the small spartan community continued on, braving ownership changes, fluctuating coal markets and increasing protests from conservationists. In 1965, Canmore was incorporated as a town with 2,000 residents. By the 1970s, Canmore's coal industry, relying too heavily on diminishing Japanese markets, was suffering. And on July 13, 1979, it was all over - Canmore Mines Ltd. ceased coal production, and 120 miners were out of work. It was an end of an era.

Within a year, all structures except the lamp house and a few mine entrances were demolished, a result of provincial government safety and reclamation policies.

There were very real fears Canmore would totally succumb to the mountain ghosts but the announcement in the early 1980s that the mountain village would be the site of Nordic events for the 1988 Winter Olympics breathed new economic life into the beleaguered community.

Since the Olympics, Canmore has more than tripled its population of 3,000 from the coal mining days to almost 11,000 citizens. However, most of the evidence that Canmore was a coal mining town has disappeared. Hundreds of acres of Canmore's old mine site have been bulldozed this past decade for residential, recreational and commercial development.

As the new millennium approaches, there are further plans to bulldoze most of the remaining former mine properties for new development.

Fortunately, the main developer on former mine land, Three Sisters Resorts, has spent considerable financial and human resources in the past decade to preserve and restore former mine structures and artifacts.

Although there are still concerns remaining artifacts will fall victim to vandalism and neglect, ongoing measures by the company are taking place for their restoration and preservation. The company also conducts school and public tours, and has donated substantial resources to annual miners' unions. The company has also spent millions of dollars in the preservation of nearby wildlife corridors.

However, with the exception of the union hall, mining showcases at two intersections leading into town, and valuable artifacts at the Centennial Museum Society of Canmore, very little coal mining evidence remains in the heart of Canmore. On the northern side of the Trans-Canada Highway, in the shadows of the Hoodoos, a remarkable pioneer cemetery has for many years been in danger of completely fading away; a victim of time, neglect and encroaching development.

Adding to the concern is that there is not one single historic memorial plaque anywhere in the town to note the industry nor the sacrifice and toil of the coal miners who served in the town for nearly 100 years.

However, in the bushes and nearby forests, there are still the ghostly reminders - if one seeks intently and listens closely.....

Johnnie Bachusky is a freelance Canmore writer and photographer who for the past two years has travelled throughout western Canada exploring and documenting ghost towns. He is committed to heritage preservation and has launched Ghost Towns of Western Canada and co-launched the Ghost Towns of Alberta web site with Ontario web designer Susan Foster. He is currently co-constructing Saskatchewan and B.C. sites. He has written several magazine articles, and contributed and exhibited scores of photographs depicting Western Canada's pioneer history.

B&W photos courtesy and copyright © The Centennial Museum Society of Canmore.
Colour photos courtesy and copyright © Ghost Towns of Western Canada