Late 19th, early 20th century.

The community of Coleman is situated in the municipality of Crowsnest Pass, atop what was once one of the most productive coalfields in Western Canada. The town, with its mine site, commercial area and streets lined with miner’s cottages, preserves the atmosphere of an early mining town.

Downtown Coleman seems always to be just on the cusp of conversion from neglect to gentrification. It remains, in many respects, frozen in the 1950s when Canadian railroads still relied on steam locomotion and there was a ready market for Crowsnest coal.

Crowsnest Pass is the last mountain community in Alberta where properties are priced within reach of the average Calgarian wanting a piece of the Rockies, if only on weekends. The probable consequence will be the eventual rescue of downtown Coleman's unoccupied storefronts and their re-dedication to the non-essential goods and services desired by Albertans escaping their weekday world of cubicle and condominium.

The focal point of historic Coleman is the Crowsnest Museum, located in a former high school. The schoolyard preserves machinery of underground mining, while inside old classrooms are repositories for the artifacts of everyday life in a mountain coal town.

Take a guided walking tour offered by Crowsnest Museum and learn about the history of the area and the people who came from around the world to work the mine and build a town.

Museum main floor and washrooms are wheelchair accessible.

Year-round

Mid-May to Labour Day, Mon-Sat, 8:00 am to 5:00 pm. Same hours in fall and winter, except noontime lunch hour.

From Coleman's highway commercial strip along Alberta Highway 3, turn south to the old town centre of Coleman. The Crowsnest Museum is located in a former school at the intersection of 77th St. and 18th Ave.