|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||
 |
Why Some Communities DeclinedThe prosperity of the communities that grew around the mines was usually reliant upon the state of the coal industry. Some of these communities would disappear almost as quickly as they were built. It was common for communities to remain simply coal mining towns, even during prosperous times. Because these towns did not develop local business supported by the miner's incomes, they would quickly become ghost towns with the closure of the coal mines. Often, mines would be declared unsafe or unproductive, and the coal companies would abandon them. The Elk Valley was no exception to this rule. Communities that settled around the mine sites generally consisted of little more than coal miners and their families. Local businesses were sure to appear and prosper off of miners' wages, but they were completely dependent upon the success of the coal mines. Families, local businesses and even churches’ Sunday collection plates depended heavily on coal miners' incomes. Communities that were settled on land and living in housing owned and operated by coal companies had to face the unfortunate reality that should the local mine close, they would be left unemployed and often homeless.
Because most individuals in these communities worked in the coal mines, there was very seldom any alternate form of employment, especially for an entire work force. In many cases coal companies would declare immediate and permanent closure, and this left hundreds of people, in many circumstances entire communities, out of work. With no other form of employment and nothing left to support a family or business, people migrated elsewhere in search of work. |
Introduction | Elk Valley | The Kootenay Smelter | The Missing Link | Heat and Electricity | Pacific Steamships | The Strikebreakers on Vancouver Island
© MM Fernie & District Historical Society.
