Sheerness, Alberta
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Sheerness is a hamlet in southern Alberta, Canada that is under the jurisdiction of the Special Areas Board.[1] Within Special Area No. 2,[2] it is 7 kilometres (4.3 mi) east of Highway 36 and 102 kilometres (63 mi) north of Brooks.
Toponymy
History
Founding, railway and coal mining: 1905–1960
Around the year 1905, the area that today contains Sheerness was used for grazing by cattle ranchers.[6] One local history provides that a rancher searching for a potential well site struck coal while digging, which subsequently attracted mining operations to the area.[6]
The settlement developed quickly enough that a Sheerness post office began operating in May 1910, and Sheerness School opened in 1913.[4][5] A hardware store, pool hall, and boarding house were operating in the townsite by 1914.[4] Prior to the introduction of the railroad, coal was transported from Sheerness by horses and wagons.[4]
The Canadian National Railway built a railway line through the settlement in 1919, facilitating its growth.[6] A community hall was established in the 1920s to host social events for locals, including dances and concerts, and the Alberta Pacific Company began operating a Sheerness grain elevator in 1923.[4] During the late 1920s, Sheerness held a yearly stampede.[4]
Between 1943 and 1967 Sheerness' coal mines employed around 50 miners, producing up to 270,000 tons of coal a year.[6] At its peak in the early 1950s, Sheerness contained around 150 residents.[4] The Sheerness mine's largest contract was to supply the Saskatoon Power Plant with fuel.[6] In 1948, the grain elevator was purchased by the Alberta Wheat Pool.[4]
Decline and later energy-based economy: 1961–present
In 1961, Sheerness' grain elevator closed down; it was dismantled two years later.[4] Sheerness School closed in 1963, as a number of local schools were consolidated in Hanna.[4] When the Saskatoon Power Plant switched to natural gas fuel in 1969, Sheerness' coal operations declined, and much of its permanent population relocated to Hanna.[4][6] Other families moved due to the introduction of better highways in the area, which allowed them to commute.[4] Its post office closed in April 1970.[5]
Until 1975, Sheerness' mine opened only during the winter months to supply the local domestic market.[6] By 1976, however, demand for coal had increased enough that moderate operations restarted in the hamlet.[6] Nonetheless, Sheerness contained approximately four permanent families by this time.[6] Its now-disused community centre was dismantled in 1978.[4] As of 2025, nothing of the original Sheerness townsite remains.[3][6]
Sheerness itself became the site of a power plant in 1986: Sheerness Generating Station.[7][8] The Sheerness mine provided the plant with coal until 2021, when the station converted to natural gas.[9][10]
Sheerness Coal Mine began winding down operations in 2015 as part of the Government of Alberta's climate change strategy.[11] At this time, the mine employed 200 workers, primarily from the nearby town of Hanna.[11] The announcement of the mine's impending closure was observed to have a negative effect on the mental health of workers, and also preceded a spike in domestic violence cases reported to the RCMP.[12] The mine closed in 2021.[13]
Economy
In 2021 Sheerness Coal Mine was repurposed into a soil amendment operation, selling naturally-occurring humalite found in the mine to agricultural buyers.[14][15][16] Also in 2024, construction began on Sheerness Industrial Park and Reservoir.[17] The project, completed in early 2025, created industrial lots across 320 acres of land, supported by a dedicated water reservoir.[18]
In December 2025 the Sheerness Generating Station announced that it would temporarily deactivate one generator beginning in April 2026, for a period of up to two years.[19]