On the morning of April 29, 1903 at 4:10 A.M. in the small coal mining town of Frank, Alberta, 90 million tonnes of limestone came crashing and tumbling down from the east face of Turtle Mountain and covered approximately three square kilometres of the valley floor.
The slide dammed the Crowsnest River and formed a small lake, covered 2km of the Canadian Pacific Railway, destroyed most of the coal mine's surface infrastructure, and buried seven houses on the outskirts of the sleeping town of Frank, as well as several rural buildings.
Frank was home to approximately 600 people in 1903. It is estimated that 90 of the roughly 100 individuals in the path of the slide were killed.
Only fourteen bodies were recovered from the debris at the time of the slide. In 1922, a road construction crew uncovered the remains of seven more people.
Several people in the direct path of the slide survived, including three young girls. Fernie Watkins was found amongst the debris. Marion Leitch, 15 months old, was thrown from her house to safety on a pile of hay. Gladys Ennis, 27 months old, was found choking in a pile of mud by her mother, Lucy Ennis (Gladys died in 1995 at age 94, the last survivor of the slide).
Seventeen men trapped in the Frank mine escaped by tunneling through virgin coal to the surface, which was easier than trying to clear the debris at the entrance. They dug through 6 metres (20 ft) of coal and 2.7 metres (9 ft) of limestone boulders. The effort took them 14 hours. A mine horse named Charlie survived alone in the mine for a month, but succumbed to its rescuers' kindness from overeating, without ever seeing daylight.
The town was evacuated, but people were soon allowed to return and both the mine and the railway were back in operation within a month. The town of Frank continued to grow, until a report on the mountain’s stability resulted in the provincial government ordering the closure of the south part of the town in 1911. Studies and monitoring continue today.
The Frank Slide became an immediate sensation in 1903, capturing media attention and becoming a regional tourist attraction for several years. Many myths circulated (and persist to the present day) concerning the ‘destruction’ of the town of Frank, a 'sole survivor' of the slide, and even buried treasure.
The site was designated a Provincial Historical Site in 1977.
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