CANMORE - Canadian Rockies: Including Banff and Jasper National Parks - page 163

Laggan (now Lake Louise), but the mines continued to operate, with the most productive
mine located on Canmore Creek. Hotels and businesses were established, and a hospit-
al, North West Mounted Police (NWMP) post, and opera house were built. The Canmore
Opera House, reputed to be the only log movie house in the world, still stands and has been
relocated to Calgary's Heritage Park.
Many British and European miners were attracted to the area, and the population con-
tinued to increase. A small contingent of Chinese miners also lived in Canmore. They
didn't stay long, but their memory lives on in the name Chinaman's Peak. A Chinese cook,
Ha Ling, was bet $50 that he couldn't climb the peak and return to Canmore in fewer than
six hours. He did, and it's been known as Chinaman's Peak ever since. In 1912, the Cana-
dian Anthracite Coal Company relocated its operation from near present-day Banff to the
west side of the Bow River, five kilometers (3.1 miles) from the rail line. Georgetown, a
bustling little village, sprang up beside the mine. Workers enjoyed electricity and running
water in cozy cabins along with their own company store, post office, and a school for the
kids. Three short years later, markets dried up and the anthracite mine closed. Georgetown
was abandoned, and the buildings were barged downstream to Canmore.
Recent Times
A little more than 100 years after mining commenced and less than 30 years after the last
mine closed, Canmore experienced its second boom—tourism—which today shows no
sign of slowing. When the last of Canmore's mines closed in 1979, the population stood at
3,500; by 2012 that number had more than tripled. Half the current residents have lived in
town for fewer than five years.
Canmore is a popular spot for moviemakers; big-budget movies filmed in and around
town have included Shanghai Noon; Grizzly Falls; Mystery, Alaska; The Edge; Wild
America; The Last of the Dogmen; Legends of the Fall; Snow Dogs; Open Range; and the
2006 Brad Pitt film The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford.
Sights and Recreation
Canmore sprawls across both sides of the TransCanada Highway, with downtown Can-
more occupying an island in the middle of the Bow River. Although development sprawls
in all directions, large tracts of forest remain intact, including along the river, where
paths lead beyond built-up areas and into natural areas. The most expansive of these is