Nordegg
{{Use Canadian English|date=January 2023}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2019}}
{{Infobox settlement
|name = Nordegg
|other_name = Brazeau
|native_name =
|nickname =
|settlement_type = Hamlet
|motto =
|image_skyline = Nordegg Alberta (10686034463).jpg
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|pushpin_map = Canada Alberta
|pushpin_label_position =
|pushpin_map_caption =Location of Nordegg in Alberta
|pushpin_mapsize =
|subdivision_type = Country
|subdivision_name = Canada
|subdivision_type1 = Province
|subdivision_name1 = Alberta
|subdivision_type2 = Region
|subdivision_name2 = Central Alberta
|subdivision_type3 = Census Division
|subdivision_name3 = No. 9
|subdivision_type4 = Municipal district
|subdivision_name4 = Clearwater County
|government_footnotes =
|government_type =
|leader_title = Reeve
|leader_name = {{Clearwater County Council (Alberta)|reeve}}
|leader_title1 = Governing body
|leader_name1 = {{Clearwater County Council (Alberta)}}
|leader_title2 = MP
|leader_name2 = Yellowhead
|leader_title3 = MLA
|leader_name3 = Rimbey-Rocky Mountain House-Sundre
|leader_title4 =
|leader_name4 =
|established_title = Founded
|established_date = 1914
|established_title2 =
|established_date2 =
|established_title3 =
|established_date3 =
|named_for = Martin Nordegg
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|population_as_of = 1986
|population_note =
|population_total = 53
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|timezone = MST
|utc_offset = −7
|timezone_DST = MDT
|utc_offset_DST = −6
|coordinates = {{Coord|52|28|14|N|116|4|31|W|display=title,inline|type:city_region:CA-AB}}
|elevation_footnotes =
|elevation_m = 1287
|elevation_ft =
|postal_code_type = Postal code span
|postal_code = T0M 2H0
|area_code = +1-403
|blank_name = Highways
|blank_info = Highway 11
|blank1_name = Waterways
|blank1_info = Lake Abraham, Shunda Creek
|website = {{URL|nordeggliving.ca}}
|footnotes =
}}
Nordegg is a hamlet in west-central Alberta, Canada within Clearwater County.{{AltaML}} It is in the North Saskatchewan River valley in the foothills of the Canadian Rockies, just east of the intersection of the David Thompson Highway and the Highway 734 spur of the Bighorn Highway (the Forestry Trunk Road). A former coal mining town, it was named after Martin Nordegg and the name probably means "North Corner" in a German dialect. The railway station name at the locality was called Brazeau rather than Nordegg at certain points in its history, but the local post office has always been named Nordegg. The name Brazeau is now obsolete.{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OmpjCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA19|title=The David Thompson Highway Hiking Guide – 2nd Edition|last=Ross|first=Jane|last2=Kyba|first2=Daniel|date=2016|publisher=Rocky Mountain Books Ltd|isbn=978-1-77160-091-0|page=19}}
History
In 1907, Martin Cohn (who later changed his surname to Nordegg) of the German Development Company, working with D.B. Dowling of the Geological Survey of Canada, staked claims covering coal deposits near the South Brazeau (now Blackstone), Bighorn, and North Saskatchewan rivers. At Nordegg's urging, Brazeau Collieries Ltd. was founded to exploit them, and the Canadian Northern Railway (which later became part of the Canadian National Railway) agreed to build a rail line to the northern part of the area. This led to the founding of the coal-mining town of Nordegg.
A small camp was established at the future townsite in 1911, coal production began in earnest in 1912, and the rail line, known as the Brazeau Branch, arrived at the town in 1913. Prior to that time, the Nordegg area was accessible only by horse. In 1914, the town was founded as one of the first planned communities in Alberta and it was named in honor of Martin Nordegg's efforts by railway entrepreneur William Mackenzie.
File:Nordegg, Alberta (1914).jpg
When World War I broke out, German assets in Canada were frozen. Martin Nordegg was permitted to remain at the town and supervise operations, but in the summer of 1915 he was asked to leave Canada. He was allowed to return in 1921, but he had lost his position with the mine.{{cite book|last=Belliveau|first=Anne|title=Small moments in time, the story of Alberta's Big West country|year=1999|publisher=Detselig Enterprises Ltd, 238 p.|location=Calgary, Alberta|isbn=1-55059-178-9}}
The coal at Nordegg is part of the Gates Formation of the Luscar Group.{{Cite web|url=http://ags.aer.ca/reports/atlas-of-the-western-canada-sedimentary-basin.htm|title=The Geological Atlas of the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin, Chapter 33: Coal Resources of the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin|author1=Mossop, G.D. |author2=Shetsen, I. (compilers) |author3=Canadian Society of Petroleum Geologists|year=1994|access-date=20 June 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160701131122/http://ags.aer.ca/reports/atlas-of-the-western-canada-sedimentary-basin.htm|archive-date=1 July 2016|url-status=dead}} Of the five coal seams at Nordegg, two were mined: the No. 2 and No. 3 Seams, which averaged {{convert|7.75|ft}} and {{convert|15.92|ft}} thick, respectively. They were separated by about {{convert|123|ft}} of rock. They dipped at an angle of 12° and were worked by underground room and pillar methods. Production peaked at {{convert|500000|ST}} in 1923, and the labor force at that time was about 800. Five small briquetting plants were added to the operation in 1937 to produce a marketable product from powdery, fine coal.
On 31 October 1941, a large underground explosion in the No. 3 Mine killed 29 miners.{{cite book|last=Rocky Mountain House Reunion Historical Society|title=Days Before Yesterday : History of Rocky Mountain House district|year=1977|publisher=Rocky Mountain House Reunion Historical Society|location=Rocky Mountain House|isbn=0-88925-003-0|page=112|url=http://www.ourfutureourpast.ca/loc_hist/page.aspx?id=871088}} Mining resumed six weeks later, and during 1942 the Nordegg mine was one of the top coal-producing mines in Alberta. The town reached a maximum population of about 2,500 in the early 1940s, and a surface mining operation was added in 1946.
In 1950, a fire destroyed the tipple and five wooden briquetting plants. A new, more modern briquetting plant was then built of metal. It began operation at the end of 1951 but a large government debt had been incurred for its construction. Coal markets declined, primarily due to the decreasing use of steam coal as railroads replaced steam locomotives with diesel, and Brazeau Collieries closed permanently in 1955. Most people left after the mine closed, although a few families stayed on.
The coal reserves at Nordegg had not been exhausted, but mining never resumed. Total production had been about 9.6 million tonnes of low- to medium-volatile bituminous coal.ERCB, 1985. Coal Mine Atlas: operating and abandoned coal mines in Alberta. Alberta Energy Resources Conservation Board, Report Series ERCB-45, Calgary, Alberta.
Climate
Nordegg has a subarctic climate (Dfc) which can be considered a subalpine climate due to its altitude with locations on the same latitude having warmer climates. Summers are mild, with a few warm days sprinkled in here and there, while winters are cold and snowy.
{{Weather box
|location = Nordegg, Alberta (1981–2010 normals)
|metric first = yes
|single line = yes
|Jan record high C = 16.7
|Feb record high C = 19.5
|Mar record high C = 17.2
|Apr record high C = 26.0
|May record high C = 29.5
|Jun record high C = 37.2
|Jul record high C = 32.0
|Aug record high C = 32.2
|Sep record high C = 31.0
|Oct record high C = 26.0
|Nov record high C = 18.3
|Dec record high C = 15.5
|year record high C =
|Jan high C = −2.6
|Feb high C = 0.0
|Mar high C = 3.5
|Apr high C = 8.8
|May high C = 13.7
|Jun high C = 17.5
|Jul high C = 20.4
|Aug high C = 20.0
|Sep high C = 15.1
|Oct high C = 9.2
|Nov high C = 0.9
|Dec high C = −3.2
|year high C =
|Jan mean C = −9.7
|Feb mean C = −7.6
|Mar mean C = -4.0
|Apr mean C = 1.6
|May mean C = 6.4
|Jun mean C = 10.3
|Jul mean C = 12.8
|Aug mean C = 12.1
|Sep mean C = 7.4
|Oct mean C = 2.2
|Nov mean C = −5.6
|Dec mean C = −9.7
|year mean C =
|Jan low C = −16.8
|Feb low C = −15.2
|Mar low C = −11.5
|Apr low C = −5.5
|May low C = −0.8
|Jun low C = 3.0
|Jul low C = 5.1
|Aug low C = 4.2
|Sep low C = −0.3
|Oct low C = −4.9
|Nov low C = -12.0
|Dec low C = −16.2
|year low C =
|Jan record low C = −47.2
|Feb record low C = -47.0
|Mar record low C = −40.5
|Apr record low C = -26.0
|May record low C = −16.5
|Jun record low C = −12.2
|Jul record low C = −6.7
|Aug record low C = −6.7
|Sep record low C = -16.0
|Oct record low C = -35.0
|Nov record low C = -43.0
|Dec record low C = -45.0
|year record low C =
|precipitation colour = green
|Jan precipitation mm = 22.1
|Feb precipitation mm = 18.0
|Mar precipitation mm = 26.2
|Apr precipitation mm = 34.2
|May precipitation mm = 68.2
|Jun precipitation mm = 105.4
|Jul precipitation mm = 106.7
|Aug precipitation mm = 86.8
|Sep precipitation mm = 63.0
|Oct precipitation mm = 32.6
|Nov precipitation mm = 21.8
|Dec precipitation mm = 18.3
|year precipitation mm =
|unit precipitation days = 0.2 mm
|Jan precipitation days = 7.0
|Feb precipitation days = 6.5
|Mar precipitation days = 8.3
|Apr precipitation days = 9.5
|May precipitation days = 13.7
|Jun precipitation days = 16.9
|Jul precipitation days = 16.7
|Aug precipitation days = 16.0
|Sep precipitation days = 12.8
|Oct precipitation days = 9.3
|Nov precipitation days = 7.1
|Dec precipitation days = 6.5
|rain colour = green
|Jan rain mm = 0.0
|Feb rain mm = 0.5
|Mar rain mm = 1.3
|Apr rain mm = 9.7
|May rain mm = 47.0
|Jun rain mm = 105.3
|Jul rain mm = 106.7
|Aug rain mm = 86.8
|Sep rain mm = 57.3
|Oct rain mm = 11.2
|Nov rain mm = 0.9
|Dec rain mm = 0.1
|year rain mm =
|Jan rain days = 0.0
|Feb rain days = 0.24
|Mar rain days = 0.79
|Apr rain days = 4.9
|May rain days = 12.3
|Jun rain days = 16.9
|Jul rain days = 16.7
|Aug rain days = 16.0
|Sep rain days = 12.3
|Oct rain days = 5.7
|Nov rain days = 0.54
|Dec rain days = 0.08
|year rain days = 86.4
|snow colour = green
|Jan snow cm = 23.4
|Feb snow cm = 18.4
|Mar snow cm = 27.6
|Apr snow cm = 25.8
|May snow cm = 20.2
|Jun snow cm = 0.1
|Jul snow cm = 0.0
|Aug snow cm = 0.0
|Sep snow cm = 5.7
|Oct snow cm = 21.6
|Nov snow cm = 22.8
|Dec snow cm = 18.5
|year snow cm =
|unit snow days = 0.2 cm
|Jan snow days = 7.1
|Feb snow days = 6.3
|Mar snow days = 7.8
|Apr snow days = 6.5
|May snow days = 3.7
|Jun snow days = 0.09
|Jul snow days = 0.0
|Aug snow days = 0.0
|Sep snow days = 1.6
|Oct snow days = 4.8
|Nov snow days = 6.8
|Dec snow days = 6.5
|year snow days = 51.2
|source 1 = Environment Canada
{{cite web
|url = https://climate.weather.gc.ca/climate_normals/results_1981_2010_e.html?searchType=stnName&txtStationName=nord&searchMethod=contains&txtCentralLatMin=0&txtCentralLatSec=0&txtCentralLongMin=0&txtCentralLongSec=0&stnID=2423&dispBack=0
|publisher = Environment and Climate Change Canada
|title = Canadian Climate Normals 1981–2010
|access-date = July 1, 2023
}}
{{cite web
|url = https://climate.weather.gc.ca/climate_data/daily_data_e.html?timeframe=2&hlyRange=2001-01-15%7C2023-06-30&dlyRange=2000-10-01%7C2023-06-29&mlyRange=2000-10-01%7C2007-11-01&StationID=30543&Prov=AB&urlExtension=_e.html&searchType=stnName&optLimit=yearRange&StartYear=1840&EndYear=2023&selRowPerPage=25&Line=3&searchMethod=contains&txtStationName=nord&Day=1&Year=2021&Month=6#
|publisher = Environment and Climate Change Canada
|title = Daily Data Report for June 2021
|access-date = July 1, 2023
}}
}}
Demographics
{{Historical populations
| title = Population history of Nordegg
| type = Canada
| align = none
| cols = 2
| shading =
| percentages =
| state =
| footnote =
| source = Statistics Canada{{cite book | url=https://publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2017/statcan/CS98-1951M-7.pdf | title=Ninth Census of Canada, 1951 | publisher=Dominion Bureau of Statistics | volume=SP-7 (Population: Unincorporated villages and hamlets) | date=March 31, 1954 | accessdate=December 5, 2021}}{{cite book | url=https://publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2017/statcan/CS92-633-1966.pdf | title=Census of Canada 1966: Population | series=Special Bulletin: Unincorporated Places | volume=Bulletin S–3 | publisher=Dominion Bureau of Statistics | location=Ottawa | chapter=Population of unincorporated places of 50 persons and over, 1966 and 1961 (Alberta) | date=August 1968 | accessdate=December 5, 2021}}{{cite book | url=https://publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2017/statcan/CS92-771-1971.pdf | title=1971 Census of Canada: Population | series=Special Bulletin: Unincorporated Settlements | volume=Bulletin SP—1 | publisher=Statistics Canada | location=Ottawa | pages= | chapter=Population of Unincorporated Places of 50 persons and over, 1971 and 1966 (Alberta) | date=March 1973 | accessdate=December 5, 2021}}{{cite book | url=https://publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2017/statcan/CS92-830-1976.pdf | title=1976 Census of Canada | series=Supplementary Bulletins: Geographic and Demographic (Population of Unincorporated Places—Canada) | volume=Bulletin 8SG.1 | publisher=Statistics Canada | location=Ottawa | chapter=Geographical Identification and Population for Unincorporated Places of 25 persons and over, 1971 and 1976 | date=May 1978 | accessdate=December 5, 2021}}{{cite book | url=https://publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2017/statcan/CS94-904-1981.pdf | title=1981 Census of Canada | series=Place name reference list | volume=Western provinces and the Territories | publisher=Statistics Canada | location=Ottawa | date=May 1983 | accessdate=December 5, 2021}}{{cite book | url=https://publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2013/statcan/rh-hc/CS92-105-1888.pdf | title=1986 Census of Canada | series=Population | volume=Unincorporated Places | publisher=Statistics Canada | location=Ottawa | date=July 1988 | accessdate=December 5, 2021}}
|1941|768
|1951|875
|1961|42
|1966|133
|1971|96
|1976|129
|1981|63
|1986|53
}}
Nordegg recorded a population of 53 in the 1986 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada.
Attractions
Most of the surface coal handling, processing and support facilities at Nordegg are still standing. They were declared a Provincial Historic Resource in 1992, and a National Historic Site of Canada in 2001.{{Cite web |url=https://parks.canada.ca/culture/cseh-twih/202342|title=The Nordegg Mine|author=|date=2022-11-19|website=Parcs Canada|access-date=18 December 2024|quote=}} There are guided tours of the surface facilities during the summer months. Tours of the underground mine workings are not possible because most of the tunnels have collapsed. A stretch of about {{convert|16|ft|m}} into the entrances of the No. 2 and No. 3 Mines has been restored and can be entered, but beyond that the entries are blocked.
A land exchange with the Province of Alberta has stimulated redevelopment of Nordegg. A mountain acreage community, the North Nordegg Subdivision, is developing north of Highway 11, adjacent to the Shunda Creek Hostel. Clearwater County has released plans for the redevelopment of downtown Nordegg, much of it on the footprint of the original townsite.
See also
References
{{Reflist}}
- When Coal Was King: The Brazeau Collieries Operation at Nordegg, Alberta. Compiled by Anne (McMullen) Belliveau for the Nordegg Historical Society. 2001.
External links
{{Commons category}}
- {{Official website|www.nordeggliving.ca}}
{{Alberta|hamlets=yes}}
{{Authority control}}