North Western Coal and Navigation Company
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The North Western Coal and Navigation Company, also known as Alberta Railway and Coal Company or Alberta Railway and Irrigation Company, was a
coal mining Coal mining is the process of extracting coal from the ground. Coal is valued for its energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extraction of iron from ...
company formed in
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,
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in 1882 by
Sir Alexander Tilloch Galt Sir Alexander Tilloch Galt, (September 6, 1817 – September 19, 1893) was a politician and a father of the Canadian Confederation. Early life Galt was born in Chelsea, England on September 6, 1817. He was the son of John Galt (novelist), J ...
, one of Canada's Fathers of Confederation. As part of his vision for Canada, Galt was committed to finding industries that would bring settlers to the District of Alberta of the
Northwest Territories The Northwest Territories (abbreviated ''NT'' or ''NWT''; french: Territoires du Nord-Ouest, formerly ''North-Western Territory'' and ''North-West Territories'' and namely shortened as ''Northwest Territory'') is a federal territory of Canada. ...
. The company was founded to create a coal mining industry that could bring settlers to the Northwest Territories. It was based in
Lethbridge Lethbridge ( ) is a city in the province of Alberta, Canada. With a population of 101,482 in its 2019 Alberta municipal censuses, 2019 municipal census, Lethbridge became the fourth Alberta city to surpass 100,000 people. The nearby Canadian ...
, Alberta, with his son Elliott Torrance Galt, managing day-to-day operations. The company's superintendent was William Stafford. Money for this company came from a
consortium A consortium (plural: consortia) is an association of two or more individuals, companies, organizations or governments (or any combination of these entities) with the objective of participating in a common activity or pooling their resources for ...
of investors from
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,
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, and the
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.


Galts' narrow gauge railway

NWC&NC built the steamboat 'Baroness' along with a number of barges in 1883 to ship coal to
Medicine Hat Medicine Hat is a city in Southern Alberta, southeast Alberta, Canada. It is located along the South Saskatchewan River. It is approximately east of Lethbridge and southeast of Calgary. This city and the adjacent Town of Redcliff, Alberta, ...
, by the
Oldman River The Oldman River is a river in southern Alberta, Canada. It flows roughly west to east from the Rocky Mountains, through the communities of Fort Macleod, Lethbridge, and on to Grassy Lake, where it joins the Bow River to form the South Saskatche ...
. However, this soon proved to be impractical, as the time of navigable high water was short and undependable, and shoals and sandbanks proved hazardous. Only 3200 tons of coal was delivered to Medicine Hat in two years. Sir Alexander Galt had already conceived the idea of a
narrow gauge railway A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge narrower than standard . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and . Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with tighter curves, smaller structur ...
, and in 1884 the Federal government confirmed the British charter, and empowered the NWC&NC to build a narrow gauge railway from
Dunmore, Alberta Dunmore is a hamlet in Alberta, Canada within Cypress County, located southeast of Medicine Hat's city limits on Highway 1 and the Canadian Pacific Railway mainline. A portion of the hamlet is recognized as a designated place by Statistics Can ...
, to its coal properties at
Lethbridge Lethbridge ( ) is a city in the province of Alberta, Canada. With a population of 101,482 in its 2019 Alberta municipal censuses, 2019 municipal census, Lethbridge became the fourth Alberta city to surpass 100,000 people. The nearby Canadian ...
. NWC&NC contracted
Canadian Pacific Railway The Canadian Pacific Railway (french: Chemin de fer Canadien Pacifique) , also known simply as CPR or Canadian Pacific and formerly as CP Rail (1968–1996), is a Canadian Class I railway incorporated in 1881. The railway is owned by Canadi ...
to buy a minimum of 20,000 tons of coal a year for five years at $5 a ton delivered to Medicine Hat. Canada's Governor General, the Marquis of Landsdowne, demonstrated the Dominion government's support of the Galt enterprises, by opening the Galts' narrow gauge railway on October 19, 1885 in Lethbridge.


Alberta Railway & Coal Company

In 1889, the Alberta Railway & Coal Company was incorporated by NWC&NC to build a narrow gauge railway from
Lethbridge Lethbridge ( ) is a city in the province of Alberta, Canada. With a population of 101,482 in its 2019 Alberta municipal censuses, 2019 municipal census, Lethbridge became the fourth Alberta city to surpass 100,000 people. The nearby Canadian ...
to the
Canada–United States border The border between Canada and the United States is the longest international border in the world. The terrestrial boundary (including boundaries in the Great Lakes, Atlantic, and Pacific coasts) is long. The land border has two sections: Can ...
, a distance of 65 miles. Coincident with the building of the AR&CC line in 1890, the Galts received a
Montana Montana () is a state in the Mountain West division of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota and South Dakota to the east, Wyoming to the south, and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columbi ...
charter for the narrow gauge Great Falls and Canada Railway (GF&CR). The line ran from Sweetgrass, opposite
Coutts Coutts & Co. is a London-headquartered private bank and wealth manager. Founded in 1692, it is the eighth oldest bank in the world. Today, Coutts forms part of NatWest Group's wealth management division. In the Channel Islands and the Isle of ...
, to
Great Falls, Montana Great Falls is the third most populous city in the U.S. state of Montana and the county seat of Cascade County. The population was 60,442 according to the 2020 census. The city covers an area of and is the principal city of the Great Falls, M ...
. By extending their railway into the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
, the Galts were able to enlarge the market for Lethbridge coal. In 1901, the GF&CR line was converted to standard gauge, and was purchased by the Montana Great Northern Railway, a subsidiary of the
Great Northern Railway (U.S.) The Great Northern Railway was an American Class I railroad. Running from Saint Paul, Minnesota, to Seattle, Washington, it was the creation of 19th-century railroad entrepreneur James J. Hill and was developed from the Saint Paul & Pacific ...
. Originally leased to the CPR in 1893, the line from Dunmore to Lethbridge (the AR&CC had acquired the properties of the NWC&NC in 1891), the line was upgraded to standard gauge, and was purchased outright in 1897 and became the first leg of the Crow's Nest Pass branch railway to the CPR's mineral properties in the Kootenay area of south-eastern British Columbia, with the right to extend the line to Hope.


Alberta Railway & Irrigation Company

To further the AR&CC's aims to develop the granted land and attract settlement, Elliott Galt was made aware that farming, not ranching, was the appropriate means of development, and
Irrigation Irrigation (also referred to as watering) is the practice of applying controlled amounts of water to land to help grow Crop, crops, Landscape plant, landscape plants, and Lawn, lawns. Irrigation has been a key aspect of agriculture for over 5,00 ...
was the key. He was approached by
Charles Ora Card __NOTOC__ Charles Ora Card (November 5, 1839 – September 9, 1906) was the American founder of Cardston, Alberta, the first Mormon settlement in Canada. He has been referred to as "Canada's Brigham Young". Richard E. Bennett"Canada: From Strugglin ...
of the
Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...
-based
Church of Christ (Latter Day Saints) The Church of Christ was the original name of the Latter Day Saint church founded by Joseph Smith. Organized informally in 1829 in New York and then formally on April 6, 1830, it was the first organization to implement the principles found in S ...
, familiarly known as
Mormons Mormons are a religious and cultural group related to Mormonism, the principal branch of the Latter Day Saint movement started by Joseph Smith in upstate New York during the 1820s. After Smith's death in 1844, the movement split into several ...
, who detailed his vision of using the local river systems for irrigation. Card had visited
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
in 1886 and had returned in 1887 with a group that settled on Lees Creek and established the village of
Cardston, Alberta Cardston is a town in Alberta, Canada. It was first settled in 1887 by members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) who travelled from Utah, via the Macleod-Benton Trail, to present-day Alberta in one of the century' ...
. Under
Brigham Young Brigham Young (; June 1, 1801August 29, 1877) was an American religious leader and politician. He was the second President of the Church (LDS Church), president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), from 1847 until his ...
, the Mormons had established a thriving community centered on
Salt Lake City Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the Capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Utah, most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the county seat, seat of Salt Lake County, Utah, Sal ...
and had pioneered and gained expertise in farming by irrigation in an area of deficient rainfall. An agreement was reached with the Mormons in 1891, whereby they would lease 700,000 acres of land, bring in settlers, and provide labour for building the canal system. Economic depression and the lack of capital ended the project. Though temporarily thwarted the Galts continued to pursue their plan for irrigation and soon afterwards, with an upturn in the economy and a new
Liberal Party of Canada The Liberal Party of Canada (french: Parti libéral du Canada, region=CA) is a federal political party in Canada. The party espouses the principles of liberalism,McCall, Christina; Stephen Clarkson"Liberal Party". ''The Canadian Encyclopedia'' ...
, government with
Clifford Sifton Sir Clifford Sifton, (March 10, 1861 – April 17, 1929), was a Canadian lawyer and a long-time Liberal politician, best known for being Minister of the Interior under Sir Wilfrid Laurier. He was responsible for encouraging the massive amount o ...
, as Minister of the Department of the Interior, who pursued a vigorous policy of
Immigration Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not natives or where they do not possess citizenship in order to settle as permanent residents or naturalized citizens. Commuters, tourists, and ...
, the fortunes of the Galt enterprises changed for the better. An agreement was reached with the
Government of Canada The government of Canada (french: gouvernement du Canada) is the body responsible for the federal administration of Canada. A constitutional monarchy, the Crown is the corporation sole, assuming distinct roles: the executive, as the ''Crown ...
, whereby in an exchange of lands the AR&CC was able to assemble a solid block of 500,000 acres adjacent to the St. Mary River thus making large-scale irrigation feasible. A new contract was signed with the Mormons in which they were to construct the canal system and in return for their labour they were to be paid "one-half in cash and one-half in land, the land with water rights being valued at three dollars per acre, to a total of $75,000 and 25,000 acres. A remission of the survey fee of ten cents per acre was also granted by the government. The church-sponsored immigrants, to whom Galt advanced the costs of transportation, were to establish themselves in
hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...
, one each in the tracts twenty and thirty miles south of Lethbridge, the communities of
Stirling Stirling (; sco, Stirlin; gd, Sruighlea ) is a city in central Scotland, northeast of Glasgow and north-west of Edinburgh. The market town, surrounded by rich farmland, grew up connecting the royal citadel, the medieval old town with its me ...
&
Magrath, Alberta Magrath is a town in Cardston County, Alberta, Canada. Its population was 2,481 in 2021. Magrath is south of Lethbridge and south of Calgary. History Magrath was established in 1899 by settlers sent by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-da ...
were established in 1889 as per contract with AR&IC. The main canal was completed in August 1900. That same year the ''St. Mary’s River Railway Company'' was incorporated to provide access and serve the settlers benefiting from the irrigation system. It reached Cardston in 1903, with permission to extend the narrow gauge line. At
Raymond, Alberta Raymond is a town in southern Alberta, Canada that is surrounded by the County of Warner No. 5. It is south of Lethbridge at the junction of Alberta Highway 52, Highway 52 and Alberta Highway 845, Highway 845. Raymond is known for its annual rode ...
a sugar beet factory was erected. A further consolidation of land took place in 1900, followed in 1902 by the purchase of the adjacent 500,000 Acre Tract at one dollar an acre after the awarding of credits amounting to two dollars an acre. Payment was to be made in ten equal annual installments. The stipulation was that the land could not be sold for more than five dollars an acre, and the unsold balance, after 15 years, would revert to the government. In 1904 the Galt companies were merged into a new corporation, the Alberta Railway and Irrigation Company (AR&IC). The St. Mary's Canal was enlarged and a beginning was made on a canal from the Milk River, halted by the
Boundary Waters Treaty of 1909 The Boundary Waters Treaty is the 1909 treaty between the United States and Canada providing mechanisms for resolving any dispute over any waters bordering the two countries. The treaty covers the Canada, as a dominion of the Crown of Britain ...
between the
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and
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
, dividing the waters of the two rivers equally between the two countries. In 1912 the
Canadian Pacific Railway The Canadian Pacific Railway (french: Chemin de fer Canadien Pacifique) , also known simply as CPR or Canadian Pacific and formerly as CP Rail (1968–1996), is a Canadian Class I railway incorporated in 1881. The railway is owned by Canadi ...
leased the AR&IC for 999 years thus ending the independence of the Galt enterprise.


See also

*
Galt Historic Railway Park The Galt Historic Railway Park, collects, preserves, restores, exhibits and interprets artifacts which represent the history and social impact of the "steam" era in southern Alberta and the coal era, with emphasis on Galt Railway and the 1890 Int ...
- Stirling, Alberta


References

{{Reflist


External links


Virtual Field Trip for the Oldman RiverDescription of Galt Railway
Coal companies of Canada Companies based in Lethbridge History of Lethbridge 3 ft gauge railways in Canada Energy companies established in 1882 Non-renewable resource companies established in 1882 Defunct Alberta railways