Blairmore, Alberta

History

Originally a Canadian Pacific Railway stop called Tenth Siding or The Springs (for the cold sulphur spring to the east), the settlement was renamed Blairmore in November 1898 and it got a post office the following year. A ten-year dispute over land ownership between the CPR station agent and the section foreman stunted early development. The community was incorporated as the Village of Blairmore on September 3, 1901. Blairmore's principal industry was lumber and, after 1907, coal. Other industries soon followed. Blairmore incorporated as a town on September 29, 1911. With the declining fortunes of the nearby community of Frank, Blairmore soon became the region's economic centre. The Greenhill mine, located just north of Blairmore, became the mainstay of the community until its closure in 1957.

One of the town's early residents was Emilio Picariello (1875 – 1923). "Emperor Pic" settled in Blairmore in 1918 and operated several businesses, but also illegally imported alcohol from nearby British Columbia during prohibition. Picariello and Florence Lassandro were hanged in 1923 after the shooting death of Alberta Provincial Police constable Steve Lawson in 1922.

Like many Canadian industrial towns in the 1930s, Blairmore had some sympathies with Communism. Canada's first Communist town council and school board were elected in Blairmore in 1933, which reformed the tax system, and refused to observe Remembrance Day as an Imperialist holiday and honoured the Russian Revolution instead. A street was named after the leader of the Communist Party of Canada, Tim Buck, and a park was renamed after Karl Marx; both decisions were reversed by the next town council.

On November 3, 1978, the Government of Alberta passed the Crowsnest Pass Municipal Unification Act, which led to the formal amalgamation of the Town of Blairmore with the Village of Bellevue, the Town of Coleman, the Village of Frank, and Improvement District (ID) No. 5 on January 1, 1979.

Canadian Militia

From 1946 to 1965, Blairmore was home to Canadian Militia units associated with the Royal Canadian Electrical Mechanical Engineers. From 1946 to 1950, No. 22 Armoured Workshop existed prior to being renamed as a Troop of 39 Technical Squadron (1950–1954) and eventually the 31st Technical Squadron (1954–1965). During this time, the Squadron had a band which regularly paraded within the town as well as a 535 Royal Canadian Army Cadet Corps, which existed until 1971.

Geography

Blairmore is located in southwest Alberta in the Canadian Rockies. It is approximately 135 km west of Lethbridge on Highway 3 (Crowsnest Highway) and approximately 20 km east of the British Columbia border. Fellow Crowsnest Pass communities Frank and Coleman are 3 km to the east and 6 km to the west respectively.

Geology

Volcanic rocks in the Blairmore area are related to the Crowsnest Formation. As a geological unit, the volcanics received some attention in the late 1980s when geologists stated they had found trace amounts of gold in certain units of the volcanics. Blairmorite, a rare volcanic rock of the Crowsnest Formation, is named after Blairmore.

Demographics

|1901|231 |1906|449 |1911|1137 |1916|1219 |1921|1552 |1926|1609 |1931|1629 |1936|1682 |1941|1731 |1946|1767 |1951|1933 |1956|1973 |1961|1980 |1966|1779 |1971|2037 |1976|2321 |1981|2384 |1986|2256 |1991|2163 |1996|2118 |2001|1993 |2006|1830 |2011|1723 |2016|1545 |2021|1522

In the 2021 Census of Population, the urban population centre of Blairmore, as delineated by Statistics Canada, recorded a population of living in of its total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of . With a land area of 2.04 km2, it had a population density of in 2021.

As a population centre in the 2016 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Blairmore recorded a population of 1,545 living in 731 of its 886 total private dwellings, a change from its 2011 population of 1,521. With a land area of 2.04 km2, it had a population density of in 2016.

References

References

1. Crowsnest Pass Historical Society. (1979). "Crowsnest and its people". Crowsnest Pass Historical Society.
2. ''Crowsnest and its People'' Crowsnest Pass Historical Society, 1979
3. (October 15, 1901). "North-West Territories Gazette". Government of the North-West Territories.
4. (October 14, 1911). "Alberta Gazette". Government of Alberta.
5. (7 September 2016). "The day Emilio Picariello and Florence Losandro gunned down Const. Stephen Lawson". calgarysun.com.
6. "The only woman hanged in Alberta". edmontonjournal.com.
7. link. (2006-03-23 - street name controversy)
8. (October 15, 2021). "Location and History Profile – Municipality of Crowsnest Pass". [[Alberta Municipal Affairs]].
9. "Your Official Road Map of Alberta". Travel Alberta.
10. Mineral Assessment Report 20060025 - A report for Assessment in reference to Metallic and Industrial Minerals Permit 9304091032
11. Pearce, T.H.. "Analcime phenocrysts in igneous rocks: Primary or secondary? – Discussion.". American Mineralogist 78: 225–229, 1993..
12. (1907). "1906 Census: Northwest Provinces (Manitoba Saskatchewan Alberta)". [[Statistics Canada.
13. (August 22, 1949). "1946 Census of Alberta". [[Statistics Canada.
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20. (August 15, 2012). "Population and Dwelling Counts and Population Rank, for Canada, Provinces and Territories, and Urban Areas, 2001 Census - 100% Data (Alberta)". [[Statistics Canada]].
21. (July 20, 2021). "Population and dwelling counts, for Canada, provinces and territories, and urban areas, 2006 and 2001 censuses - 100% data (Alberta)". [[Statistics Canada]].
22. (July 25, 2021). "Population and dwelling counts, for Canada, provinces and territories, and population centres, 2011 and 2006 censuses (Alberta)". [[Statistics Canada]].
23. (February 7, 2018). "Population and dwelling counts, for Canada, provinces and territories, and population centres, 2016 and 2011 censuses – 100% data (Alberta)". [[Statistics Canada]].
24. (February 9, 2022). "Population and dwelling counts: Canada and population centres". [[Statistics Canada]].