Frank, Alberta
Encyclopedia
Frank is an urban community in the Rocky Mountains
within the Municipality of Crowsnest Pass
in southwest Alberta
, Canada
. It was formerly incorporated as a village prior to 1979 when it amalgamated with four other municipalities to form Crowsnest Pass.
and Henry Frank
developed the first of many coal mines in the Crowsnest Pass, in the base of Turtle Mountain. In May that year the first buildings were erected in the new community of Frank, located on flat land between the Canadian Pacific Railway
tracks and the mine. The town’s grand opening on September 10, 1901 was an all-day event that included sporting competitions (with engraved medals for the victors), tours of the mine, a banquet, and a dance. Two special trains brought in the guests, and the gourmet food (including a ton of ice cream). Henry Frank presided over the event, which was attended by the premier Frederick W. A. G. Haultain
and his public works minister. Frank became the first incorporated village in the Pass and by 1903 served 1000 people with two dozen businesses and services, a two-story brick school and a regional post office.
The famous Frank Slide
of 1903 destroyed much of the mine’s infrastructure, several rural businesses, and seven houses on the outskirts of Frank, killing 70-90 people. However the mine reopened within weeks and the rail line was soon re-established through the slide path. Frank continued to boom, and in 1905-06 a new residential subdivision was developed out north of the tracks to keep pace with mine production, a new zinc smelter, and a new three-story hotel (Rocky Mountains Sanatorium) close to a cold sulphur spring. A small zoo was built near the hotel.
However a period of decline soon followed. Due to market forces the zinc smelter never operated, and was converted to an ice skating arena. Fears of a second slide led to a government-ordered closure of the south townsite in 1911, and over the next several years its buildings were torn down or moved. The 1905 subdivision remained, but Frank ceased to be an important centre after the mine closed temporarily in 1912 and permanently in 1917. The Sanatorium, converted to a military hospital in 1917, was torn down in 1928 after a period of abandonment.
Today, Frank is a quiet residential community of about 200 people, with few hints of its promising past. It is the smallest of the five towns that amalgamated into the Municipality of Crowsnest Pass in 1979. The Frank Slide
was designated a Provincial Historical Resource in 1977, and in 1985 the provincial government opened a major interpretive centre in Frank that explains the Frank Slide and the coal mining history of the region. The site of the original Frank townsite is now an industrial park, and many of the historic buildings in the north subdivision are gone, including Gebo’s stately mansion and the Catholic Church blown down by wind in 1917. But there are a few houses that are over a hundred years old, and you can still see pieces of century-old wood-stave water pipes in Gold Creek, part of the foundation of the zinc plant (and the tunnel that connected it to its hilltop chimney), and an antique fire hydrant in the old closed townsite.
Rocky Mountains
The Rocky Mountains are a major mountain range in western North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch more than from the northernmost part of British Columbia, in western Canada, to New Mexico, in the southwestern United States...
within the Municipality of Crowsnest Pass
Crowsnest Pass, Alberta
The Municipality of Crowsnest Pass is a specialized municipality located in the Crowsnest Pass of the Rocky Mountains in southwest Alberta, Canada. The municipality formed as a result of the amalgamation of five municipalities – the Village of Bellevue, the Town of Blairmore, Town of Coleman, the...
in southwest Alberta
Alberta
Alberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. It was formerly incorporated as a village prior to 1979 when it amalgamated with four other municipalities to form Crowsnest Pass.
History
In 1901, American entrepreneurs Sam GeboSamuel Gebo
Samuel Wilford Gebo was an American entrepreneur influential in the early development of the U.S. state of Montana...
and Henry Frank
Henry Frank
Born in Ohio, USA in 1851 of French parents, Henry L. Frank was an important business and political figure in the state of Montana, USA. A self-made entrepreneur who invested in liquor distribution, real estate and mining, he also founded the Silver Bow Electric Light Company, was president of the...
developed the first of many coal mines in the Crowsnest Pass, in the base of Turtle Mountain. In May that year the first buildings were erected in the new community of Frank, located on flat land between the Canadian Pacific Railway
Canadian Pacific Railway
The Canadian Pacific Railway , formerly also known as CP Rail between 1968 and 1996, is a historic Canadian Class I railway founded in 1881 and now operated by Canadian Pacific Railway Limited, which began operations as legal owner in a corporate restructuring in 2001...
tracks and the mine. The town’s grand opening on September 10, 1901 was an all-day event that included sporting competitions (with engraved medals for the victors), tours of the mine, a banquet, and a dance. Two special trains brought in the guests, and the gourmet food (including a ton of ice cream). Henry Frank presided over the event, which was attended by the premier Frederick W. A. G. Haultain
Frederick W. A. G. Haultain
Sir Frederick William Alpin Gordon Haultain was a lawyer and a long serving Canadian politician and judge. His career in provincial and territorial legislatures stretched into four decades...
and his public works minister. Frank became the first incorporated village in the Pass and by 1903 served 1000 people with two dozen businesses and services, a two-story brick school and a regional post office.
The famous Frank Slide
Frank Slide
The Frank Slide is a natural landslide feature in the southern Rocky Mountains of Canada, and a significant historical event in western Canada.Frank, Alberta is a coal mining town in the Crowsnest Pass, Alberta...
of 1903 destroyed much of the mine’s infrastructure, several rural businesses, and seven houses on the outskirts of Frank, killing 70-90 people. However the mine reopened within weeks and the rail line was soon re-established through the slide path. Frank continued to boom, and in 1905-06 a new residential subdivision was developed out north of the tracks to keep pace with mine production, a new zinc smelter, and a new three-story hotel (Rocky Mountains Sanatorium) close to a cold sulphur spring. A small zoo was built near the hotel.
However a period of decline soon followed. Due to market forces the zinc smelter never operated, and was converted to an ice skating arena. Fears of a second slide led to a government-ordered closure of the south townsite in 1911, and over the next several years its buildings were torn down or moved. The 1905 subdivision remained, but Frank ceased to be an important centre after the mine closed temporarily in 1912 and permanently in 1917. The Sanatorium, converted to a military hospital in 1917, was torn down in 1928 after a period of abandonment.
Today, Frank is a quiet residential community of about 200 people, with few hints of its promising past. It is the smallest of the five towns that amalgamated into the Municipality of Crowsnest Pass in 1979. The Frank Slide
Frank Slide
The Frank Slide is a natural landslide feature in the southern Rocky Mountains of Canada, and a significant historical event in western Canada.Frank, Alberta is a coal mining town in the Crowsnest Pass, Alberta...
was designated a Provincial Historical Resource in 1977, and in 1985 the provincial government opened a major interpretive centre in Frank that explains the Frank Slide and the coal mining history of the region. The site of the original Frank townsite is now an industrial park, and many of the historic buildings in the north subdivision are gone, including Gebo’s stately mansion and the Catholic Church blown down by wind in 1917. But there are a few houses that are over a hundred years old, and you can still see pieces of century-old wood-stave water pipes in Gold Creek, part of the foundation of the zinc plant (and the tunnel that connected it to its hilltop chimney), and an antique fire hydrant in the old closed townsite.