Dusty roads were more than a nuisance in Calgary in 1913.
What to do?
Dr. Stanley Mahood, the medical officer for health for Calgary, suggested the city spray petroleum on the dust in the interests of public health.
“Oil is too costly to be used in laying dust on unpaved streets is the opinion of Commissioner A.G. Graves,” reported The Herald.
“While roads in Ontario can be oiled for a whole season from $60 to $100 per mile, the cost would be five times that in Calgary due to excessive freight rates.”
As there was no oil in Alberta in 1913, the petroleum would have to be imported from Ontario or the southern United States.
The quest for oil in the Canadian West had been a bust.
In 1911, for example, Mayor Mitchell of Calgary staked land southwest of the city where gas was bubbling up from the ground along Sheep Creek. But he forgot to register the claim, as was required by law, so the city of Calgary did not become owner of its own oilfield.
That oilfield, called Turner Valley, attracted international attention and in WWII was producing more than 95 percent of all the oil in Canada.
But 100 years ago, Alberta had no oil.
During the next year, as we count down to the Turner Valley Centennial – May 14, 2014, and the discovery of western Canada’s first commercial oilfield at Turner Valley, watch for more stories about how oil changed Alberta.
49 Weeks and Counting….
