Bankhead, Alberta was a small coal mining town that existed in the early 20th century. It had a population of about 1,000 people and was located in Banff National Park, near the town of Banff. The mine was located at Cascade Mountain, which contains high grade anthracite coal deposits. The Bankhead coal mine was operated by the Pacific Coal Company, a subsidiary of the Canadian Pacific Railway, which needed the coal to fuel its steam engines. The mine began operations in 1903 and was the first anthracite mine in Canada.
On June 17, 1922, notices of the closure of the Bankhead Mines were posted through the town of Bankhead. Basically, the Federal government was closing the mine down so that Banff National Park could be extended and preserved - the future of Banff National Park did not include Bankhead. In 1926, many of the town's buildings were moved to Banff and Canmore, and the remaining structures simply destroyed by the government. On the day we toured Bankhead we saw all that was left of the formerly prosperous town.
