HISTORICAL COALMONT, B.C.

We have a cabin in a town called Coalmont. It is a very small town in British Columbia. There is a lot of history in this place. It was at one time a busy coal mining area, hence the name. 

Most of the information here comes from the web site of the Mozey-On-Inn. Many thanks to Diane S. for allowing me to use her photos and data.


The first influx of people to head into the area came in 1885. Coalmont is right across the river from Granite Creek. There was a gold rush going on in Granite Creek at that time but it only lasted a few years. They did have a post office there until 1918 but it became a ghost town not long after that. 

Coal was discovered there as early as 1858. The vein, once exposed could reportedly be lit by a match. The Columbia Coal and Coke Co. Ltd. mined the are for it's coal and were the ones to name it Coalmont around 1911. When war broke out in 1914 all development of in the area stopped. 

 The CCC (Columbia Coke & Coal) office.

The production peaked in 1928 with about 167,461 tons of coal being mined. It traveled on a 3 mile long gravity operated aerial tramway. They could transport a ton of coal a minute. 

The stables for the CCC  ca. 1911

The local power plant would spew out black smoke on the days they were cleaning the flues. When this took place on a Monday, the traditional laundry day the women would be racing to take their wash inside.

This was the first car to drive the 19 kilometer road from Princeton to Coalmont. At the summit there once was a sign that read "Princeton to Coalmont 12 miles. This is the most DAMNABLE ROAD IN B.C. 292 curves - count 'em".

This is the Compressor building for the CCC taken about 1910.

The rear of the Coalmont Hotel and the Royal Bank in 1933.

The main street of Coalmont taken around 1930. There is still a pub in the hotel. My BB guy tells of walking in there one day a couple years ago. There was a dog on the pool table, a dog on the shuffleboard table and two dogs sleeping on the wood floors. There were only 3 people in the bar. Our very own Maxine doggy has joined him there for a beverage too. (shh don't tell because I don't think you are supposed to let the dogs in the bar)

A more recent photo below. Our cabin would be a block to the left and a couple block up, right next to the river and the bridge.

This is the Mozey-On-Inn below. Once again I would like to thank Diane for the use of these photos and most of the words. She has done a great job on her website and you should take a look. This is just the tip of the iceberg shown here. 


The area is an outdoor playground for snowmobiles in the winter and ATVs in the summer. There are many trails and my BB spends a LOT of time up there enjoying it all. The Mozey-On-Inn is one of the few places to stay up there.

This is our front yard at the cabin with a little dusting of snow. How pretty.