Abandoned St. Eugene Mine

Located on the shores of Moyie Lake, the town of Moyie BC was once famous for the huge St. Eugene Mine, which can still be seen from the highway. In the 1890s a valuable deposit of Lead and Silver ore was discovered on the slopes above the south end of the lake. Soon a mine and not long after a town was established at this location. The ore was discovered by a native fellow, who was encouraged to search for this type of material by a local Catholic Priest (from the St. Eugene Mission – hence the mine's name). The claims here were staked by and were owned by the church for a short time before the property was sold to a mining syndicate under the name St. Eugene Consolidated Mining Company Limited. Later the giant Consolidated Mining and Smelting Company (Cominco – now called Teck) bought the property.

Our Video (YouTube): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MmrRzdJZphA

NIKKEI INTERNMENT MEMORIAL CENTRE

The Nikkei Internment Memorial Centre serves as a reminder of the forced removal of Japanese Canadian population from the West Coast during the Second World War. Approximately 12,000 of the 22,000 displaced persons were sent to internment camps established in remote regions by federal authorities. Located at the site of a former camp, the Nikkei Centre is one of the few places to have preserved traces of this tragic episode, notably a community centre and three cabins built to house the internees. The Nikkei Internment Memorial Centre was designated a national historic site of Canada in 2007. Dedicated to remembrance, this site constitutes an important memorial for the Japanese Canadian community.

Our Video (YouTube): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8qXiHxZYwL8

Website: http://newdenver.ca/nikkei/

Location: 306 Josephine St, New Denver, BC V0G 1S0

SS MOYIE | World's Oldest Passenger Sternwheeler

The SS Moyie paddle steamer sternwheeler worked on Kootenay Lake in British Columbia from 1898 until 1957. After nearly sixty years of service, she was sold to the town of Kaslo and restored. Today she is a National Historic Site of Canada and the world's oldest intact passenger sternwheeler.

Our Video (YouTube): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8lr3j0eYFlo

Website: https://www.klhs.bc.ca/

Location: 324 Front St, Kaslo, BC V0G 1M0

Leitch Collieries Provincial Historic Site

Leitch Collieries was one of the largest and most ambitious coal mines in the early history of the Crowsnest Pass. Established in 1907, it was the only coal company in the Pass completely Canadian owned and operated. A ‘colliery’ is a coal mining and processing plant. All of the major mines in the Crowsnest Pass had surface operations where coal was cleaned and graded prior to loading it onto railway cars for shipping, and some operated coke ovens, where coal was superheated without allowing it to burn, producing coke used in the steel industry. The collieries in the Crowsnest Pass were big operations with large impressive structures of stone, brick and wood, each with their own power-generating stations and even their own towns. Leitch Collieries even had its own sandstone quarry, used in the construction of its facilities. Despite less than ten years of active mining, the facilities at Leitch Collieries were impressive structures built to last. Leitch Collieries Provincial Historic Site is located on Highway 3, about 3.5km east of Bellevue. Designated as a Provincial Historic Site, its remaining structures were stabilized, walking trails established and informative displays were installed. Interpretive staff are on site between May 15 and Labour Day. This fascinating site provides a good insight into the large support plant needed for a major coal mining operation a century ago.

Our Video (YouTube): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zTgwIdbJHPU

Website: http://www.leitchcollieries.ca/

Location: Crowsnest Pass, Alberta

Bellevue Underground Coal Mine Tour

The Bellevue Underground Coal Mine Tour is a unique and historically authentic underground coal mine tour in Western Canada. Equipped with a miner’s helmet and lamp, the Bellevue Underground Mine tour takes visitors 1,000 feet into the mine, where they are 150 feet below the surface. The Bellevue Mine was active from about 1905 until 1961 and was the reason for the town of Bellevue‘s existence. Most of the coal produced was sold to the Canadian Pacific Railway. Like other mines in the Pass, methane gas and coal-dust were significant hazards. On December 9, 1910 an underground explosion claimed the lives of 31 of the 42 men on a partial shift – but had the explosion occured during a full shift, up to 200 men would have been in the mine which could have surpassed the Hillcrest Mine Disaster (only a few kilometres away) for loss of life.

Our Video (YouTube): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XAlt8tfGVHU

Website: http://www.bellevuemine.com/

Location: 2531 213 St, Bellevue, AB T0K 0C0