Blood Tax
The mines in the Drumheller area provided sub-bituminous coal, chiefly used for home heating and cooking. The flat-lying seams were easier to mine than those found in more mountainous areas, with lower levels of methane gas. The coal-mining era lasted from 1911 to 1979, when the Atlas No. 3 and 4 mines closed. The Atlas No. 3 Mine structures were preserved and form the basis of the National Historic Site, administered by the Atlas Mine Historical Society.
The mine features the last wooden coal tipple in Canada. Built in 1936, the tipple is a coal loading and sorting machine. At over 40 feet tall the tipple now serves as a reminder of the rich mining history of the Drumheller Valley. Old mining equipment, including a working 1936 battery powered locomotive and several buildings including the wash house, supply house, lamp house, and mine office still stand at the site. The site preserves the stories and artifacts of the men who once mined the black. The Atlas is the last of 139 mines that once ruled the valley.
This monument is to the 139 miners who paid the blood tax and died working in the mines. Roughly 4 people died for every 1000 tons of coal extracted.
Blood Tax
The mines in the Drumheller area provided sub-bituminous coal, chiefly used for home heating and cooking. The flat-lying seams were easier to mine than those found in more mountainous areas, with lower levels of methane gas. The coal-mining era lasted from 1911 to 1979, when the Atlas No. 3 and 4 mines closed. The Atlas No. 3 Mine structures were preserved and form the basis of the National Historic Site, administered by the Atlas Mine Historical Society.
The mine features the last wooden coal tipple in Canada. Built in 1936, the tipple is a coal loading and sorting machine. At over 40 feet tall the tipple now serves as a reminder of the rich mining history of the Drumheller Valley. Old mining equipment, including a working 1936 battery powered locomotive and several buildings including the wash house, supply house, lamp house, and mine office still stand at the site. The site preserves the stories and artifacts of the men who once mined the black. The Atlas is the last of 139 mines that once ruled the valley.
This monument is to the 139 miners who paid the blood tax and died working in the mines. Roughly 4 people died for every 1000 tons of coal extracted.