Mercoal | |
---|---|
Coordinates: 53°09′37″N117°05′43″W / 53.16028°N 117.09528°W | |
Country | Canada |
Province | Alberta |
Municipal district | Yellowhead County |
Government | |
• Type | Unincorporated |
• Mayor | Jim Eglinski |
• Governing body | Yellowhead County Council
|
Time zone | UTC−7 (MST) |
• Summer (DST) | UTC−6 (MDT) |
Area code(s) | 780, 587, 825 |
Mercoal, a former coal mining town, is located in the Yellowhead County of western Alberta, Canada. It was one of several communities along the historic Coal Branch segment of the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway (now part of the Canadian National Railway), which included Embarras, Robb, Coalspur, Coal Valley, Cadomin, Luscar, and Mountain Park. At its peak in the late 1940s and early 1950s the town had over 800 residents. Mercoal declined after the mines closed in 1959, and it is now essentially a ghost town with only a small number of summer residences remaining. It is situated on Highway 40, 70 km southwest of Edson, 8 km (5 mi) west of Coalspur.
Year | Pop. | ±% |
---|---|---|
1941 | 91 | — |
1951 | 977 | +973.6% |
1956 | 972 | −0.5% |
Source: Statistics Canada [1] [2] |
Mercoal's name was an acronym for the McLeod River Hard Coal Company, co-owned by Nick Gurvich, who opened an underground coal mine in 1920. In 1924 the mine was sold to Saunders Ridge Coal Company, Ltd. [3] The Mercoal mine was the last major operator in the Coal Branch area, and it attracted workers from other Coal Branch towns after the closure of the mines at Mountain Park in 1950 and Cadomin in 1952. The Mercoal mine finally closed on July 17, 1959. [4]
Elsa is a former privately owned mining town in the Canadian territory of Yukon, between the Stewart River valley to the south and the Mackenzie Mountains to the north. It is located at Kilometre 97 of the Silver Trail, approximately 700 kilometres (435 mi) north of Whitehorse and 600 km (373 mi) east of the Alaskan border.
Frank is an urban community in the Rocky Mountains within the Municipality of Crowsnest Pass in southwest Alberta, Canada. It was formerly incorporated as a village prior to 1979 when it amalgamated with four other municipalities to form Crowsnest Pass.
Coleman is a community in the Rocky Mountains within the Municipality of Crowsnest Pass in southwest Alberta, Canada. It was formerly incorporated as a town prior to 1979 when it amalgamated with four other municipalities to form Crowsnest Pass.
Bellevue is an urban community in the Rocky Mountains within the Municipality of Crowsnest Pass in southwest Alberta, Canada. It was formerly incorporated as a village prior to 1979 when it amalgamated with four other municipalities to form Crowsnest Pass.
Hillcrest, also known as Hillcrest Mines, is an urban community in the Rocky Mountains within the Municipality of Crowsnest Pass in southwest Alberta, Canada. It was once a hamlet under the jurisdiction of Improvement District (ID) No. 5 prior to 1979 when the former ID No. 5 amalgamated with four other municipalities to form Crowsnest Pass.
Nordegg is a hamlet in west-central Alberta, Canada within Clearwater County. It is in the North Saskatchewan River valley in the foothills of the Canadian Rockies, just east of the intersection of the David Thompson Highway and the Highway 734 spur of the Bighorn Highway. A former coal mining town, it was named after Martin Nordegg and the name probably means "North Corner" in a German dialect. The railway station name at the locality was called Brazeau rather than Nordegg at certain points in its history, but the local post office has always been named Nordegg. The name Brazeau is now obsolete.
Bankhead, Alberta was a small coal mining town that existed in the early twentieth century, in Banff National Park, near the town of Banff, Alberta. The mine was located at Cascade Mountain, which contains high grade anthracite coal deposits. The Bankhead coal mine was operated by the Pacific Coal Company, a subsidiary of the Canadian Pacific Railway, which needed the coal to fuel its steam engines. The mine began operations in 1903.
Marlboro is a hamlet in west-central Alberta, Canada within Yellowhead County. It is located on the Yellowhead Highway, approximately 25 kilometres (16 mi) west of Edson. Sundance Provincial Park is located northwest of the hamlet.
Cadomin is a hamlet in the west-central Alberta, Canada within Yellowhead County. It is located along the McLeod River in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains, approximately 50 kilometres (31 mi) south of Hinton near the Bighorn Highway. It is served by a spur of the Canadian National Railway.
Luscar is a ghost town in west-central Alberta, Canada that was once a coal mining community. It was in the foothills of the Northern Rockies about 12 kilometres (7.5 mi) northwest of Cadomin along the Bighorn Highway, at the end of the CN Railway line.
Mountain Park is a ghost town in western Alberta, south of Cadomin, elevation 6200 feet, at the end of the historic Alberta Coal Branch line of the Canadian National Railway.
Beverly is a former urban municipality within the Edmonton Capital Region of Alberta, Canada. Beverly incorporated as a village on March 22, 1913 and became the Town of Beverly on July 13, 1914. It later amalgamated with the City of Edmonton on December 30, 1961. The population of Beverly was 8,969 at the time of amalgamation.
Embarras is a locality in Yellowhead County, Alberta, Canada. It takes its name from the Embarras River. 'Embarrass' is French for 'barrier', probably in reference to the piles of driftwood that often clog the shallow, winding river.
Coalspur is a nearly abandoned coal-mining and railroad town in Yellowhead County, Alberta. It is situated on Highway 47 beside the Embarras River in the foothills of the Canadian Rockies.
East Coulee is a community within the Town of Drumheller, Alberta, Canada. It was previously a hamlet within the former Municipal District (MD) of Badlands No. 7 prior to the MD's amalgamation with the former City of Drumheller on January 1, 1998. It is also recognized as a designated place by Statistics Canada.
Rosedale is a community within the Town of Drumheller, Alberta, Canada. It was previously a hamlet within the former Municipal District (MD) of Badlands No. 7 prior to the MD's amalgamation with the former City of Drumheller on January 1, 1998. It is also recognized as a designated place by Statistics Canada.
Wayne is a community within the Town of Drumheller, Alberta, Canada. It was previously a hamlet within the former Municipal District (MD) of Badlands No. 7 prior to the MD's amalgamation with the former City of Drumheller on January 1, 1998.
Lille is a ghost town and former village in the Crowsnest Pass area of southwest Alberta, Canada. It was a company-built coal mining community that, between 1901 and 1912, hosted a population that grew to over 400. The mines at Lille closed in 1912, due primarily to weak coal prices, increasing production costs, and the increasingly poor quality of the coal. The community was then dismantled and most of its structures were moved elsewhere. Today the site is an Alberta Provincial Historic Resource and is known for the elegant ruins of a set of Bernard-style coke ovens that was imported from Belgium.
Midlandvale is a community within the Town of Drumheller, Alberta, Canada. It was previously a hamlet within the former Municipal District of Badlands No. 7 prior to being annexed by Drumheller in 1972. Now referred to as Midland by the Town of Drumheller, the community is located within the Red Deer River valley on North Dinosaur Trail, approximately 3 km (1.9 mi) west of Drumheller's main townsite.
The Alberta Coal Branch is the name given to a segment of the Canadian National Railway and the region through which it passes. It is located within Yellowhead County in west-central Alberta, Canada.