Fernie & Elk Valley Culture Guide Issue 2 Fall 2016 | Page 6

Boom and Bust:
Ghost Towns of the Elk Valley

The early coal mining communities in the Elk Valley were boom towns which rose
almost overnight. Built within a short distance of new mines, these communities
promised a better life for thousands of immigrants that came to the region. 
The communities of Coal Creek and Michel-Natal, where the coal seams were
lucrative, survived for over 50 years. Others popped up and then disappeared just
as quickly when the mines were not as profitable as owners had hoped.
COAL CREEK
The Crow’s Nest Pass Coal Company
brought in 20 miners from Cape
Breton to work its first mine at Coal
Creek, which was established in 1897. 
By 1905 the townsite became home
to 1,000 residents. On May 22, 1902,
an explosion in a mine left 128 dead
in one of Canada’s the worst mining

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disasters. The mine was closed in 1958
and the townsite was dismantled. 
During those 60 years, the Coal Creek
mine produced 20 million short tons
of coal. By contrast, today’s open pit
mines produce 25 million metric tons
per year. Very little remains of the
townsite or the mine.