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DRUMHELLER VALLEY COAL DISTRICT

The first of the coal mines to open in the Drumheller Valley was the Newcastle Mine which was opened in 1911. There were a toal of 138 coal mine leases issued in the Drumheller Valley and the surrounding area. While some were very successful, operating for 3 or 4 decades, the majority had a shorter life time and a few of the leases never actually had working mines. During the heyday of the coal mining era in the Drumheller Valley (which most sources indicate to be somewhere aorund the mid 1940's) there were about 30,000 people. As was the case for East Coulee, all of the towns suffered a loss of population with the closing of the majority of the coal mines in the valley during 1950's and early 1960's.



EAST COULEE

The first mine in East Coulee was the Murray / Comet mine which opened in 1916 and eventually closed in 1942. The other nine mines were started at various times and the last, the Atlas (#2) finally closed in 1984. Many of the mines were opened in the late 1920's and 1930's and remained open until the coal seam became too difficult to work or ran out. This is why there can be more than one location for the "Atlas" or "Murray" mines. Some mines started on one side of the river and when the coal seam ran out they simply closed the mine and moved the equipment and men across the valley to work the same seam the other side of the river.

East Coulee had 10 different coal mines within or close to the town itself, part of the dozens of mines that once were worked in the Drumheller Valley. The first mine opened before the town existed and the coal was used by the farmers for home heating. Since there was no railroad and little more than a dirt track for a road, the coal was shipped by sled on the river ice to the nearby town of Rosedale. This was a workable solution for the first number of years since the demand for coal in summer, when there was no ice highway, was very small. After more mines were opened in the East Coulee area the railroad companies decided to build a spur line out to East Coulee in 1928.

The first mine in East Coulee was started by Mr. Murray (shown in the picture at the entrance to the mine). This mine was on the north side of the river and was operated by Mr. Murray until 1933. At that time Tommy Vallance took over the rights to this mine, now called the Comet Mine, and extracted coal until 1942. A new Murray Mine was opened across the river on the south side of the valley in 1933. In order to move more coal to market, the owners of the new mine teamed up with the Atlas mine and proposed a joint venture to the CPR and CNR railroad companies to build a railway bridge across the river. This was compelted in 1936, the same year that the new Murray mine was officially opened.

An interesting fact is that Mr. Murray owned the all the coal leases on the north side of the river from Willow Creek to the east end of East Coulee. He sold or sub-let these leases to various people over the years. His business sense was clear and he enjoyed a financial prosperity which was a good thing since he had 11 children to feed ! He left a legacy in the area as one of the principle mine owners and also in the community where his wife, Isobell, was very well known for her generoisity.



COAL MINES IN EAST COULEE

Though there were 10 mines that operated in East Coulee the maximum number that ever operated simultaneously was 4. These mines were the Atlas (3), the Aetna (1), the Murray (2) and the Empire (2) mines. During this time there would have been more than 1000 men working in the mines in the busy winter season. This was in the late 1930's, and including their families, the population grew to about 3000. Almost all the jobs in East Coulee were in the mines; the rest were related to services needed by the mines and the stores that supplied goods for the families and homes.

The following lists the various mines that operated in East Coulee.

Mine name Coal Lease Number Open - Close

Murray (1) / Comet #675 1916 - 1942

Taylors / Farmers Mine #931 1921 - 1939

Murray (1) / Comet #1278 1928 - 1936

Murray (1) / Comet #1289 1928 - 1937

Murray (1) / Comet #1299 1929 - 1952

Murray (1) / Comet #1482 1935 - 1953

Murray (1) / Comet #1941 1936 - 1959

Murray (1) / Comet #1573 1940 - 1966

Murray (1) / Comet #1742 1956 - 1984


There were always challenges in operating the coal mines as working underground presents many issues that are not part of our everyday life. Finding a safe way to bring light into the dark tunnel which sometimes had explosive methane gas in them. How to keep the ceilings and walls from collapsing as the tunnels were lengthened - the shape of the tunnel would always be deformed by stresses from the rock above but also sometimes by pressures from the sides. It took an expert "timber man" to construct supports that would withstand the enormous pressures and stresses. There were other things like digging out coal when the men could not even stand up. In fact, some tunnels were so short that the men had to cut a hole in the wooden side of the coal car in order to put coal in !

There were some spectacular events as well. The Empire mine was unfortunate enough to have the tipple blown down TWICE by gale force winds. Once in 1934 and again in 1943. In both cases, they simply rebult the tipple and carried on. Such was the tenacity of the people that lived and worked in the mines of East Coulee. The Atlas mine tipple caught fire one evening, April 4, 1937 and the tipple was completely destroyed. The mine boss at the time was concerned that the fire might go into the mine itself so he decided to blow up the entrance to the mine itself. Of course, he made sure all of the men were out of the mine before setting off the dynamite charges. Once again, in the morning they just started to rebuild the tipple and reopen the entrance to the mine.



MINING - HOMEMADE STYLE

There is legend that some of the people living in East Coulee found small coal seams when they dug the cellars for their homes. Some of these enterprising people decided to "mine" the coal and use it for heating the house. They could save quite a bit of money and they did not have to haul the coal very far. However, as they dug deeper into the small coal seams, they weakened the ground above since these coal seams were not very deep. Eventually, it has been reported (rumoured), that someone walking over the weakened ground fell through into the hole created by the industrious home owner.

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Mr. Murray in mine entrance
1 October 1932
East Coulee, Alberta, Canada


Credits:
Unknown

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Loading the Dynamite to blast...
1 October 1940
East Coulee, Alberta, Canada


Credits:
Unknown

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Drilling to Blast the Coal
1 October 1940
East Coulee, Alberta, Canada


Credits:
Unknown