A haunting history: Last wooden tipple in Canada

Good morning steemians!

Alberta has many local historical gems worthy of attention, the small town of Drumheller and it's surroundings, once a booming coal mining area, now could be considered a cluster of ghost towns surrounding the small town. A geologist/mining consultant, Joseph Burr Tyrell , better known for his accidental discovery of the Albertosaurus ,first documented fossil of the area that sparked fossil fever and tremendous amounts of prehistoric discoveries. His real agenda was to search for the once sought after coal. The surrounding area, visibly rich in coal seams through the eroded walls of the canyon once carved by an ancient river, was the promise land for Alberta's first boom-town at the height of coal's popularity.

The black lines are the coal seams,some being
several feet in height.

Founded in 1911 by Colonel Samuel Drumheller, infrastructure and mines began to be built on the barren land and the word spread quickly to a sizable audience of desperate men looking for work in a time of isolated opportunities. Despite the lack of infrastructure, the promise of riches appealed to both transients passing thru and men uprooting their families and living conditions quickly turned into chaos as the crowds where flowing in. Notorious for it's living conditions, it became know as " Devil's row". Men living in overcrowded bug infested tents,makeshift houses built out of any material one could find, if lucky a miner would get a small shed sized "bunkhouse" with a stove and a bed where the men hot-changed (one sleeps there during the day, one sleeps during the night). Drinking water often contaminated by overflowing sewage leading to illnesses including frequent Typhoid and Scarlet fever outbreaks.

Coal mine Atlas No.3 ,East Coulee, Alberta.

Conditions weren't much better in the mine,low wages,labor intensive, long hours without fresh air breathing coal dust. Safety standards were primitive at best, some teenage boys may have been part of the workforce. Miners were paid by the cart with their identification tag once it was sorted thru the tipple and weighted. Many men lost their lives for various industry accidents or illnesses from the conditions , leading to work stoppages and strikes that started a movement towards unionization within the industry. A total of 139 mines were built in the area shipping around 60 million tons of coal across Canada's railways.

Atlas No. 3 is the last standing and the most complete wooden tipple in Canada. This piece of infrastructure was meant to sort coal nuggets by size and load them on to the proper cart for shipping. Built in 1936, is now transformed into a museum accessible by guided tours in the summer months. Standing over 40 feet tall, this historic structure is sound enough to go and experience what a miner would have gone thru and their daily tasks, including the warm conditions in the summer with minimal ventilation( trust me guys it was hot in there!). The tipple houses a series of conveyor belts , coal chutes and sorting screens.

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The tour includes a walk up the dark wooden shaft the miners would have climbed every morning to get to the underground mine. The entrances to the mine have been sealed after their closure for public safety so entry of the mine is not currently possible. Crews at Atlas Mine Historical Society are working on excavating and securing parts of the entrances using traditional methods employed at the time to maintain the historical integrity to possibly be able to offer tours of the mining site in the future. On my last visit, only a few dozen feet were safe for access.

Coal nugget sorting trays that rock back and forth and
would have been loud and in constant motion.

At the end of the wooden shaft, with the mine entrance now blocked leads to the shop of some of the most important workers of the operation, the forge where a blacksmith and his apprentice would have been forging or repairing all the horseshoes, metal tools and mechanical parts required by the miners and the ponies helping with their transportation needs.

Now, the town of Drumheller is famous for having the largest fossil collection in the world, for the most part small, quiet, reliant on the tourism they get rather than it's coal supply. Many of the once thriving hamlets have turned into ghost towns with the odd resident or historic mini- museums and haunted school houses preserving the towns ghostly history. Some of these locations have attracted local ghost hunters to investigate the legends told by the locals or encounters from visitors. There are suspicions of haunted activity due to the high emotions experienced by the pioneers, good and bad, the land also has previous history ancient indigenous tribes and folklore of voodoo and ancient spirits occupying the land and was an active area in the fur trade and battles with settlers. There are even saloons to wet your beak and grab a plate, this place is strait out of a wild west movie( just missing the tumble weed)

View of the landscape of East Coulee from the forge

This would have been the rules of mine entry. The empty cage would have been for the "canary" to detect if there were sufficient oxygen or deadly gasses in the mine prior to entry by letting the canary loose and if it didn't return...well...it's probably not a good idea to enter. Very primitive mode of air quality testing.

These are actual paychecks the miners would have
received during the 1940's

A bunkhouse where some employees lived

This charming town doesn't have much to offer in the superficial department( nightlife, shopping malls...) If you are a fan of exploring the outdoors and enjoy learning about history and the local culture, I highly recommend visiting if you have the chance. It's humble downtown offers a string of local boutiques showcasing various fossils, arts and crafts from the residents including art from local indigenous tribes( my favorite) . It certainly doesn't get the attention it deserves!

Memorial dedicated to the lives lost at Atlas mines both
from workplace injury and long term exposure illnesses

Happy monday friends! xox