Frank Travel & Tourism

Welcome to Frank, AB, Alberta

Frank is named after American developer Henry Frank, who, along with partner Sam Gebo, established the Crowsnest Pass' first coal mine in the base of Turtle Mountain. A mine meant a town soon followed, and in 1901 Frank celebrated its opening with a grand gala attended by Alberta's dignitaries.

First Nations peoples had long used the slopes of the Rocky Mountains to quarry stones and the waters of the Crowsnest River for fish, but all the time dared not sleep in the shadow of the Turtle, citing a legend it could “walk.” In the early morning hours of April 29th, 1903, a massive slab of rock weighing 82 million tonnes lost its grip from the side of the mountain and came crashing down on the outskirts of the town, killing 79 people in what is the largest landslide ever recorded in North America. Massive boulders line the side of Highway 3 as the road enters Frank, silently paying homage to the victims. The nearby Frank Slide Interpretive Centre takes visitors through those events and other days in the diverse history of the Pass.