Coleman, Alberta


Coleman is an urban community in the Rocky Mountains within the Municipality of Crowsnest Pass in southwest Alberta, Canada. It was formerly incorporated as a town prior to 1979 when it amalgamated with four other municipalities to form Crowsnest Pass.
Coleman is located in census division No. 15 and in the riding of Macleod. It is served by Highway 3 and the Canadian Pacific Railway.

History

In 1903 a new townsite was laid out a few kilometres west of Blairmore, Alberta, to service a new coal mine operated by the International Coal and Coke Company. Initial names of Paulson's Camp or McGillivray Hill were rejected by the post office, settling on Coleman in 1904. A feature of the town was the mine's 100 coke ovens located at the edge of town, which operated from 1906 to 1952. The town grew rapidly, surpassing its neighbour Blairmore as the largest in the region. Coleman boasted a successful opera house from 1908 until it burned down in 1948.
Coleman persevered through strikes, floods and fires. As the coal mines in the region gradually closed, Coleman's commercial importance waned in favour of Blairmore. Coleman amalgamated with four other municipalities to form the Municipality of Crowsnest Pass in 1979.
Coleman's coal mining heritage is evident in its several historic buildings, a regional museum, the ruins of its coal plant and coke ovens, several nearby abandoned mines and the "biggest piggy bank in the world" made from a gauge air driven thermos bottle mine locomotive. Much of the downtown section now forms the Coleman National Historic Site.

Demographics

According to the 2006 Census of Canada, the population of Coleman is 1,065, which represents 19% of the overall population of the Municipality of Crowsnest Pass.

People


Coleman has a subarctic climate with mild to warm summers and cold, snowy winters.