South Lethbridge in Lethbridge County, Alberta — Canada’s Prairie Region (North America)

First Coal Mine in Alberta / La première houillère de L'Alberta

First Coal Mine in Alberta /<br>La première houillère de L'Alberta Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Cosmos Mariner, June 27, 2022

1. First Coal Mine in Alberta /
La première houillère de L'Alberta Marker

Inscription. Click to hear the inscription.

[English] In 1872, on the western bank of the Oldman River at the present site of the Federal Mine, Nicholas Sheran opened the first coal mine in Alberta. He broke his own trails, found his own markets, and hauled coal by ox-team 200 miles to Fort Benton, Montana, and other distant points. Thus was founded a vital industry that has contributed greatly to the development and welfare of Western Canada.

[Français] Nicholas Sheran ouvrit la première houillère de l’Alberta sur la rive occidentale de la rivière Oldman, en 1872 à l’emplacement actuel de la mine Fédéral. Il traça des chemins, trouva des débouchés et transporta le charbon par charrettes à bœufs sur un parcours de 200 milles jusqu’à Fort Benton, au Montana, et en d'autres régions éloignées. Ainsi prit naissance une industrie de toute première importance qui contribua largement à la mise en valeur et à la prospérité de l'Ouest canadien.

Erected by Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada/Commission des lieux et monuments historiques du Canada.

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in

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this topic list: Industry & Commerce. In addition, it is included in the Canada, Historic Sites and Monuments Board series list. A significant historical year for this entry is 1872.

Location. 49° 41.794′ N, 112° 50.306′ W. Marker is in Lethbridge, Alberta, in Lethbridge County. It is in South Lethbridge. Marker can be reached from the intersection of 3 Avenue South and 6 Street South, on the right when traveling west. Marker is located in Galt Gardens, on the north side of the Southern Alberta Art Gallery. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 601 3 Avenue South, Lethbridge AB T1J 0H4, Canada. Touch for directions.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 3 kilometers of this marker, measured as the crow flies. First Air Crossing of the Canadian Rockies / Première traversée des Rocheuses en avion (within shouting distance of this marker); Lethbridge Public Library / Southern Alberta Art Gallery (within shouting distance of this marker); Firehall No. 1 (about 210 meters away, measured in a direct line); Canadian Pacific Railway Union Station (approx. 0.2 kilometers away); Manual Training School / Bowman Elementary / Bowman Art Centre (approx. half a kilometer away); The Construction of the Lethbridge Viaduct / La construction du Viaduc de Lethbridge

Photographed By Cosmos Mariner, June 27, 2022

2. First Coal Mine in Alberta /
La première houillère de L'Alberta Marker

(looking north • Galt Gardens in background)

(approx. one kilometer away); Lethbridge Viaduct (approx. 1.1 kilometers away); Nikka Yuko Centennial Garden (approx. 2.6 kilometers away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Lethbridge.

Also see . . .
1. Coal in Alberta.

The Siksika—Blackfoot and the Kainai—Blood people, called the area now known as Lethbridge on the banks of the Oldman River Sik-ooh-kotoki or "place of the black rocks." In 1793, a British surveyor, Peter Fidler, working for the Hudson's Bay Company wrote about a seam of high-quality coal near the Red Deer River. Nicholas Sheran, an entrepreneur from New York City, opened a mine there on the west bank of Oldman River in 1874 — making it the first commercial coal mine in Alberta. Sir Alexander Galt, one of the fathers of the Canadian Confederation, formed the North Western Coal and Navigation Company in 1882 to exploit coal resources in what is now southern Alberta with William Lethbridge as the company's largest shareholder and president.

(Submitted on April 20, 2023, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.)

2. Alberta’s First Coal Mining Community.

Sir Alexander Galt’s decision to open a mine in the south
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of the province resulted in the creation in 1882 of Alberta’s first coal mining community, Coalbanks, renamed Lethbridge soon after. Galt decided that private enterprise would build the community. In 1885, surveyor Charles A. Magrath travelled to the mine site where he was then hired by the Galts to lay out the streets and building lots for the proposed town of Lethbridge.

(Submitted on April 20, 2023, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.)

Credits. This page was last revised on April 20, 2023. It was originally submitted on April 19, 2023, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida. This page has been viewed 54 times since then and 8 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on April 20, 2023, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.