Nova Scotia Comes Alive in 2011!

Springhill Mine Tour: Coal-Black History

The economy and growth of Atlantic Canada was fueled by two commodities: fish and coal. Both were in high demand and there was an endless supply for the taking.

As we’ve seen in the past 20 years the oceans can be stripped of fish supplies and, cheap and available oil replaced coal as the fuel of the world’s economic engines. This spelled the end of the the vibrant coal town including Springhill, Nova Scotia.

Coal mining was – and still is – a dangerous way to make a living. Most coal and hard rock mines (such as silver and lead) operated in much the same way for centuries. Either tunnels were driven into the side of a mountain or one was dug in the ground at an angle so that the coal could be extracted. In the old days pit ponies, which were small horses, pulled ore cars to the surface. Later electric engines wound cable down to the depths of the mine to haul out a string of a cars at one time called “rakes.”

Coal mines contained deadly methane gas that both exploded at the first hint of a spark and/or poisoned the miners. The miners worked in cramped conditions sometimes holding lamps by their teeth as they picked at the hard walls of coal.

Over the years it operated the mines at Springhill had many accidents that accounted for hundreds of lives. A fire in 1891 killed 125 miners and in the 1950′s two more terrible accidents closed the mine for good. In 1956 a runaway rake sparked an explosion that killed 39  miners. Then in 1958 a “bump” – an underground earthquake – killed 74 in a rescue  drama that lasted weeks. The mining industry abruptly ended shortly afterward. Springhill survived this series of tragedies as well as two subsequent fires that burned out the center of the town.

new attractions filled in for the old. The Anne Murray Centre, built in honor of the famous singer who was brought up in Springhill, draws thousands of tourists each year as does the Springhill Mine Museum.

The great thing about the museum is that it starts in the “dry” – change room – of the Syndicate Mine, the last working mine in Springhill. You can see how the miners had their work clothes on ropes that were pulled up to the ceiling and were the lamps were recharged. You get your hardhat off the rack and you get your own lamp. Then it’s down into the mine where you can feel dank confines of the shafts and the clammy touch of the coal walls.

The tour is a step back into a time when men worked like moles to get the “black gold” that fueled the world. But it is also a celebration of their spirit and this can be seen in the museum where you can look through pictures, artifacts and even speak to real miner.

The tour is a lot of things: historical, scary and dark. However, it’s something that you’ll never forget. Because you can connect with a world that existed to power trains and ships andwalk in the footsteps of some of the bravest men who ever lived.