Mitford, Alberta facts for kids

Mitford is a ghost town in Alberta, Canada. It was started in 1886 and had a sawmill and later a coal mine. But by 1898, everyone had left, and it became a ghost town.

History of Mitford

Early Days and the Sawmill

In 1885, a man named T.B.H. Cochrane and his wife, Adela, got a large piece of land near what is now Cochrane, Alberta. The next year, Cochrane teamed up with the Calgary Lumber Company. They built a sawmill about five kilometers west of present-day Cochrane. The mill was set up to cut down and process many trees from his land.

The Canadian Pacific Railway built tracks leading to the mill. But there were problems with the railway. The trains didn't like stopping at the mill because the tracks were very steep there. By 1888, the small town had an office, a drug store, and places for workers to sleep. By 1891, it even had a school, which met in the local saloon. The town was named Mitford after a friend of Cochrane's wife.

Coal Mining and Brick Making

The sawmill didn't do very well. Most of the good quality fir trees in the area were actually used to build the railway itself, instead of being sold. In 1888, a coal mine started in the area. It was helpful because the sawmill's railway was right there to carry the coal away.

However, by 1890, it became clear that both the sawmill and the coal mine wouldn't last. They both closed that same year. To try and save the town, T.B.H. Cochrane started a brickyard. He used clay found just north of Mitford to make bricks. But in 1893, that business also closed because the bricks weren't very good.

Why Mitford Became a Ghost Town

After the brickyard closed, the town of Mitford slowly faded away. By 1898, everyone had left. Before it became a ghost town, Mitford had a store, a school, a hotel, a restaurant, a doctor's office, and an Anglican church. The steam engine used on Mitford's railway was sold to a mill in British Columbia. The Canadian Pacific Railway stopped making regular stops at the town.

Mitford Today

In 1898, a fire started in the Chinese restaurant and destroyed most of the town. In 1899, the town's church was moved to Cochrane. Today, all that is left of Mitford is its cemetery. The cemetery is now on private property.