History of Lethbridge

The modern history of Lethbridge extends to the mid-19th century, when the area was developed from drift mines opened by Nicholas Sheran in 1874, and the North Western Coal and Navigation Company in 1882.

Prior to the development of drift mines in the area, Lethbridge, Alberta was known as Coal Banks, and was part of the territory of the Blackfoot Confederacy.

By the 1870s, Nicholas Sheran (an American entrepreneur) mined a coal seam in the coulees on the west side of what is now the Oldman River.

[2] By the time production peaked during World War I, 10 mines employed 2,000 miners and produced 1 million tonnes of coal annually.

Because of the rail industry's dependence of coal and the CPR's efforts to settle immigrants in southern Alberta, the railway centre of Lethbridge was instrumental in the economic success of the region.

[2] Between 1907 and 1913, a development boom occurred in Lethbridge, making it the main marketing, distribution and service centre in southern Alberta.

[2] Several municipal projects, a construction boom, and rising real estate prices transformed the mining town into a significant city.

By the time the event arrived in October, the city had spent $1.35 million paving downtown streets, putting in cement sidewalks, improving the water and sewer systems, building a street railcar system, creating Henderson Park and setting aside 60 acres (24 ha) for the Exhibition Grounds.

Despite the event attracting thousands of delegates from throughout Canada and such places as China, Italy, and India, the city's tax base of only 8,000 could not support those improvements.

[2] Following WWII, irrigation in the surrounding area caused the city's population to swell, which in turn boosted the local economy.