A series of four Alberta History signs are located together in a small kiosk on the edge of downtown Coleman. Designed as a starting point for the Coleman Historic Walking Tour, the kiosk offers interpretive brochures for the walking tour, with free parking as well. The kiosk also provides some historical information on the town of Coleman.

"A self-guided walking tour pamphlet and map is available for each of the five communities within the Crowsnest Pass. Look for the downtown heritage kiosk in each community where you will find a pamphlet-holder"
Source: www.crowsnestheritage.ca/trails-routes/walk/community-walking-tours/

Sign #1

Coleman Historic Walking Tours

Coleman National Historic Site
Coleman is the most representative place in the region where substantial physical evidence of the historical community exists adjacent to significant mining related resources; the site illustrates important aspects of mining culture related to the role of companies, technology, labour, the state, and class and ethnic aspects of community development in the evolution of the coal industry.
Coleman was designated a National Historic Site of Canada in 2001.

Downtown Coleman Walking Tour
Walking time: 1-1.5 hours
This loop heads west down 18th Avenue along Coleman's former main thoroughfare (originally First Street) and loops back along 17th Avenue (Second Street) through the heart of Coleman's former central business district.
The numbering system in the Coleman Walking Tour brochure begins from the Crowsnest Museum and Archives on 18th Avenue.

Sign #2

Heritage Driving Route

The Crowsnest Pass Heritage Driving Route directs visitors on a fascinating automobile tour through the historic communities of Bellevue, Hillcrest, Frank, Blairmore, and Coleman, which make up the Municipality of Crowsnest Pass today. Highway and in-town directional signage will keep visitors on the route from beginning to end. The entire route can be driven from east-to-west or from west-to-east and is 20 kilometers in length. If driving from east-to-west, the Heritage Driving route begins at the East Access to Bellvue off Highway 3 (Crowsnest highway). If driving from west-to-east, the Heritage Drive Route begins at the West Access to Coleman off Highway 3. Heritage Driving Route brochures are available at the Frank Slide Interpretive Centre, Bellvue Underground Mine Tour, Crowsnest Museum, Crowsnest Pass Chanber of Commerce, Municipality of Crowsnest Pass office and at businesses throughout the Crowsnest Pass.

Sign #3

Coleman - Events

Coleman Legion
Royal Canadian Legion, Coleman Branch No. 9, recieved its charter on October 6, 1926, making it the first chartered branch of the Legion established in Alberta. It was offered the title of Branch No. 1, but chose No. 9 in honour of its nine founding members. The Coleman Legion building is designated a Registered Historic Resource.

Coleman National Historic Site of Canada
Designated in 2001, the Coleman National Historic Site consists of the remains of a moal mine and associated surface plant, railway transportation cooridor and historic town atht grew up around the mine in the warly 1900s. Together they form a unique industrial and historic district that brings together the key elements of an historic coal mining landscape. The site is multi-layered in meaning, revealing the history of coal mining in southeast Alberta in terms of business, technology, labour and an ethnically diverse community supported and sustained by mining operations.

Coleman Journal
The Coleman Miner - Coleman's first newspaper - was established in 1908, but was shut down by the local sheriff for its pro-labour editorials during the coal miners' strike of 1911. Attempts to organize another publication failed until 1921 when the Coleman Journal went to press. Conservative in outlook, teh paper supported those who sought to break the miners' strike of 1931. The Pulitzer Prize winning publication - for distinguished and meritorious service - remained in operation until the death of its last owner, Thomas Holstead, in September of 1970. The paper was produced on a hand-set and hand-turned press that produced 500 copies per hour.

Lawson's Murder
On September 21, 1922, during the Prohibition era, famed rum runner Emilie "Emperor Pick" Picariello received word that his son had been shot be an Alberta Provincial Police (A.P.P.) officer during a botched illegal liquor run. Emperor Pick and Florence "Filumena" Lassandro, the wife of Pick's business partner, drove from Blairmore and confronted Constable Stephen Lawson in front of the A.P.P. barracks in Coleman. A heated argument ensued between Pick and Lawson. In a struggle over a gun, Lawson was shot and killed. Once arrested and put on trial, even a judge and jury could not determine who fired the fatal shot that killed Constable Lawson. In the final verdict, both Picariello and Lassandro were found guilty of murder and both were hanged - Filumena was the only woman ever hanged in Alberta. For more on this dramatic story, visit the Crowsnest Museum.

Floods and Fires
Coleman was inudated with water during major floods of the Crowsnest River in 1923 and 1942. In 1948, seven buildings on Coleman's main street were destroyed in a massive fire.

Amalgamation
The municipality of Crowsnest Pass was estabilsed as of January 1, 1979 with the amalgamation of the communities of Coleman, Blairmore, Frank, Bellvuew, and Hillcrest. Today, Crowsnest Pass is recognized for and wide for its remarkable heritage, its outstanding natural beauty and for its unparalleled recreational opportunities.

Sign #4

Coleman

Construction of Coleman, and what would become in the early years one of the largest and most prosperous towns in the Crowsnest Pass, began in 1903 on part of the 5,300 acres acquired by the International Coal and Coke Company. The new village was named by A.C. Flumerfelt, president of the International Coal and Coke Company, in honoour of his youngest daughterm Florence Coleman Flumerfelt. in 2909, the McGillivray Creek Coal and Coke Company began operations to the north of the community. In 1910, Coleman, which included west Coleman, was incorporated as a town with a population of 1,961. The adjacent neighbourhoods of Bush Town and Grafton Town contained an additional population of 1,900. The town continued to prosper despite the volatility of coal markets with the boom-and-bust cycles, until the closure of the Coleman Collieries in 1983.

Ethnic Diversity
Crowsnest Pass is a mosaic of cultures. Immigrants from eastern Canada, United States, Ukraine, Russia, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Italy, the Balkans, Scandinavia, Belgium, and France made their way to Crowsnest Pass for jobs in the coal mines. In Coleman, neighbourhoods emerged with distinct ethnic identities. Its ethnic enclaves of Bush town (Ukrainian and Polish), Italian Town, and Slav Town (West Coleman) preserved the rich and varied cultures. Other groups such as Chinese, Dutch, Hungarian, Japanese, and East Indians added to the fascinating and unique ethnic mosaic that males up Crowsnest Pass today.

Coal Mining
By 1913, Coleman's mines were an integral part of the Crowsnest Pass coalfield, which ranked as Alberta;s most productive and one of Canada's largest. Together, International and McGillivray Creek mines produced approximately 25 million tons of coal between 1903 and 1957 make Coleman one of the largest centres of production in the Pass. In 1983, Coleman Collieries, which was an amalgamation of the International, McGillivray and Hillcrest-Mohawk mines, was the last mine to close in the Crowsnest Pass

Type of Marker: Cultural Sign Age: New Alberta Tourism Marker Style Parking: The kiosk is located in a small free parking lot Placement agency: Discover Crowsnest Heritage

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