Frank, AB at a Glance
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.
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WELCOME TO Frank, AB!
