Hillcrest, Alberta

Hillcrest, also known as Hillcrest Mines, is an urban community in the Rocky Mountains within the Municipality of Crowsnest Pass in southwest Alberta, Canada. It was once a hamlet[2][3] under the jurisdiction of Improvement District (I.D.) No. 5 prior to 1979 when the former I.D. No. 5 amalgamated with four other municipalities to form Crowsnest Pass.

Hillcrest
Former hamlet
Hillcrest
Location of Hillcrest in Alberta
Coordinates: 49.5686°N 114.3769°W / 49.5686; -114.3769
Country Canada
Province Alberta
Census divisionNo. 15
Specialized municipalityMunicipality of Crowsnest Pass
Government
 • TypeUnincorporated
 • Governing bodyMunicipality of Crowsnest Pass Council
Area
 • Land0.31 km2 (0.12 sq mi)
Population
 (2016)[1]
 • Total394
 • Density1,259.2/km2 (3,261/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC−7 (MST)
 • Summer (DST)UTC−6 (MDT)

History

Hillcrest was named after Charles Plummer Hill, an early coal prospector and entrepreneur who also founded Port Hill Idaho. Hill grew up and was educated in Seaford, Delaware before moving to the Northwest. The Hillcrest Coal and Coke Company, incorporated on January 31, 1905, began constructing the town the same year, and the Canadian Pacific Railway soon built a spur for transporting coal from the Hillcrest Mine, and a station. Hillcrest soon grew to a population of about 1,000. The post office opened in 1907 with Charles P. Hill as the postmaster.[4]

Although the mine was successful, and considered one of the safest in the region, an underground explosion in 1914 (Canada's worst mine disaster) killed 189 men—almost twenty percent of the town's population, and half the mine's workforce. A further explosion in 1926 killed two men.

After the mine closed in 1939, Hillcrest experienced a period of economic decline.

In 1979, the former I.D. No. 5, which included the former Hamlet of Hillcrest, amalgamated with Bellevue, Blairmore, Coleman and Frank to form the Municipality of Crowsnest Pass.

Demographics

As a designated place in the 2016 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Hillcrest Mines recorded a population of 394 living in 186 of its 230 total private dwellings, a change of 11.3% from its 2011 population of 354. With a land area of 0.31 km2 (0.12 sq mi), it had a population density of 1,271.0/km2 (3,291.8/sq mi) in 2016.[1]

As a designated place in the 2011 Census, Hillcrest Mines had a population of 354 living in 182 of its 219 total dwellings, a -37.2% change from its 2006 population of 564. With a land area of 0.34 km2 (0.13 sq mi), it had a population density of 1,041/km2 (2,700/sq mi) in 2011.[5]

See also

References
  1. "Population and dwelling counts, for Canada, provinces and territories, and designated places, 2016 and 2011 censuses – 100% data (Alberta)". Statistics Canada. February 8, 2017. Retrieved February 13, 2017.
  2. Annual Report of the Dept. of Highways of the Province of Alberta. Alberta Department of Highways. 1958. p. 44 & 46. Retrieved October 11, 2013.
  3. "Board Order: MGB 131/98" (PDF). Alberta Municipal Affairs. 1998-06-03. Retrieved 2012-08-28.
  4. Crowsnest Pass Historical Society (1979). Crowsnest and its people. Coleman: Crowsnest Pass Historical Society. p. 39. ISBN 0-88925-046-4. Archived from the original on 2015-09-24. Retrieved 2013-06-19.
  5. "Population and dwelling counts, for Canada, provinces and territories, and designated places, 2011 and 2006 censuses (Alberta)". Statistics Canada. 2012-02-08. Retrieved 2012-04-07.
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