Bellevue Mines
by Trent Jackson
At the turn of the century, Jules Fleutot and C. Remy of British Columbia Gold Fields Limited, came to the south-west of Alberta to prospect for coal. Two years later they found incredibly rich deposits of the stuff at Crowsnest Pass. The company cast a net that encompassed some 20,000 acres of land and the surrounding towns of Lille, Blairmore and Byron Creek. The mine got underway in 1903 and by early December of that year, loaded its first C.P.R. box car full of rich, black coal.
By mid-decade, there were more than 150 men on the mine's payroll and the town had been developed to include housing, stores and a hotel to accommodate the steadily increasing workforce.
In 1910 the first of two explosions marked the beginning of a trying period for the mine and the men. Later that same year another massive explosion ripped the mine apart on December 9th killing 31 of the 42 men on shift; men who were trapped in the mine and either suffocated or died from carbon monoxide poisoning in the collapsed tunnels. The townspeople were thankful the death toll wasn't higher: if the explosion happened during the day shift, there would have been more than 200 men in the mine.
Shortly after the blast repairs had been completed, a seven-month strike crippled operations at the mine and lasted until November 1911. The subject of equity for workers was, as in much of the province at the time, high on the priority list. Fortunately the years following this period of calamity were marked by high production and good profits. This same prosperity though, set the stage and was also the catalyst for several major strikes as miners became organized with their efforts and the respective unions became stronger. The dominant issue this time was wages, mining methods and the subject of union affiliation itself, which was seen by employers as crippling to progress and profitability. In total, there were four major strikes characterized by positioning of miners, unions, and mine owners within a five-year period from 1919 to 1924, one strike lasting an entire six months and having the effect of reducing the miner's wages.
Ultimately it was the decision by CPR brass to convert its engines from coal to diesel that spelled the decline for the mine and for the town of Bellevue itself. By the late 1950's the CPR – the mine's largest customer, at one time consuming approximately 90% of the coal it produced - had completely converted, and demand had shrivelled. Despite attempts to generate new coal markets overseas and vigorous appeals for government assistance, the mine was forced to shut down in January 1961.
This is the only underground coal mine tour in Western Canada. Tours run daily from May 11th to September 7, and staff at the mine promise a safe experience you won't ever forget.
The Bellevue Underground Mine access road is located at 21814 - 28th Ave in Bellevue, Crowsnest Pass, Alberta.
Published with the kind assistance of staff at the Bellevue Underground Mine