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Bankhead, Alberta was a small 
A local newspaper report published 17 June 1922 indicated that notices of the closure of the Bankhead Mines had recently been posted through that town. The notices made it clear that on and after 15 July the staff of Bankhead Mines would not be required and the coal operations would cease. The report concluded: "This would indicate that after the above date Bankhead will be a dead town so far as coal mining is concerned." This report concluded that no reasons were given for the closure, although it was generally understood that mining there had not been profitable. There had been a strike at the mine two months before this announcement, and the mines had been closed since that time. Another report on the
coal mining
Coal mining is the process of resource extraction, extracting coal from the ground or from a mine. Coal is valued for its Energy value of coal, energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to Electricity generation, generate electr ...
town that existed in the early twentieth century, in Banff National Park
Banff National Park is Canada, Canada's first National Parks of Canada, national park, established in 1885 as Rocky Mountains Park. Located in Alberta's Rockies, Alberta's Rocky Mountains, west of Calgary, Banff encompasses of mountainous ter ...
, near the town of Banff, Alberta
Banff is a resort town in Banff National Park, Alberta, Canada, in Alberta's Rockies along the Trans-Canada Highway, west of Calgary, east of Lake Louise, Alberta, Lake Louise, and above
Banff was the first municipality to incorporate within ...
. The mine was located at Cascade Mountain, which contains high grade anthracite
Anthracite, also known as hard coal and black coal, is a hard, compact variety of coal that has a lustre (mineralogy)#Submetallic lustre, submetallic lustre. It has the highest carbon content, the fewest impurities, and the highest energy densit ...
coal deposits. The Bankhead coal mine was operated by the Pacific Coal Company, a subsidiary of the Canadian Pacific Railway
The Canadian Pacific Railway () , 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 Canadian Pacific Kansas City, Canadian Pacific Ka ...
, which needed the coal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other Chemical element, elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen.
Coal i ...
to fuel its steam engine
A steam engine is a heat engine that performs Work (physics), mechanical work using steam as its working fluid. The steam engine uses the force produced by steam pressure to push a piston back and forth inside a Cylinder (locomotive), cyl ...
s. The mine began operations in 1903.
A local newspaper report published 17 June 1922 indicated that notices of the closure of the Bankhead Mines had recently been posted through that town. The notices made it clear that on and after 15 July the staff of Bankhead Mines would not be required and the coal operations would cease. The report concluded: "This would indicate that after the above date Bankhead will be a dead town so far as coal mining is concerned." This report concluded that no reasons were given for the closure, although it was generally understood that mining there had not been profitable. There had been a strike at the mine two months before this announcement, and the mines had been closed since that time. Another report on the mine closure
Mine closure is the period of time when the ore-extracting activities of a mine have ceased, and final decommissioning and mine reclamation are being completed. It is generally associated with reduced employment levels, which can have a significan ...
noted that around 200 to 300 men were employed there with the output of coal running between 500 and 600 tons per day. The town population was around 1,000 people.
All of Bankhead's buildings were built and owned by the company and rented to the residents. In 1926, many of the town's buildings were moved to Banff and Canmore. The Bankhead Railway Station now sits on the grounds of the Banff Hostel on Tunnel Mountain Road. It has a map of the Bankhead townsite posted outside its front door.
Today, an interpretive trail runs through Lower Bankhead. Signs are placed along the trail identifying the major buildings, as well as other interesting facts. Many foundations of buildings are visible. One building remains intact and contains displays viewed through the windows. Remains of the town are also visible adjacent to the Upper Bankhead parking lot.
Bankhead is located on the Lake Minnewanka road, just a few minutes drive from the Banff townsite or the Trans Canada Highway
The Trans-Canada Highway (Canadian French, French: ; abbreviated as the TCH or T-Can) is a transcontinental federal–provincial highway system that travels through all ten provinces of Canada, from the Pacific Ocean on the west coast to the A ...
.
Near Bankhead was another coal mine, Anthracite
Anthracite, also known as hard coal and black coal, is a hard, compact variety of coal that has a lustre (mineralogy)#Submetallic lustre, submetallic lustre. It has the highest carbon content, the fewest impurities, and the highest energy densit ...
. This mine was a failure because of heavy water inflow in the underground. The Anthracite mine shut down in 1904 and was abandoned.
See also
*List of ghost towns in Alberta
The province of Alberta has several ghost towns that have been completely or partially abandoned. Many of Alberta's ghost towns exist as a result of a number of failed coal mining operations in the area during the early 20th century.
Ghost t ...
References
{{Subdivisions of Alberta Banff National Park Coal mines in Canada Ghost towns in Alberta Localities in Improvement District No. 9 Mining communities in Alberta