Dominion Coal Company not to be confused with  the Western Dominion Coal Company, near Taylorton. It was the First Coal Mine in Estevan Owned by various investors, a representative of the mine, was a Mr. Philip (Phil) Walsh, brother to Major James Morrow Walsh. (ex NWMP) From all accounts, Major Walsh  watched over the operation of the mine. In one article it stated he was President of the Company A Mr. Melville was the manager directly in Estevan in 1892. Phil only appears in a couple articles, I seen Philip's name, in a newspaper article, where he was at a party in Estevan, held Friday, Dec 18, 1892 in honour of a Mr. Edward Philip Leacock, who was the CPR Townsite Agent, held at the Kelly House. (aka Kelly Hotel) Philip spoke about "his" Company, Dominion Coal Company, and the error in assuming, they were building a mine down the river. He intended to vigorously operate the Estevan Mine. He claimed the Coal was of good quality, and abundant in quantity, and would last for the next century. As you will read below, this was not true. Operated from Sept 1892- Sept 1894 per articles below.       Sept 6, 1892- Drift 20 ft. wide was being built and timbered, with a broad landing made. 8ft thick seam of coal was found by boring at various places. at a depth of 30-40 ft. Reason for it's closing was the coal quality was poor.       Mr. Arthur Gould Yates, b- Dec 18, 1843- East Waverly, Tioga, NY- d- Feb 9, 1909, from Apoplexy, at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel, NY  He was President of the Buffalo, Rochester, and Pittsburgh Railway company, President of the Buffalo and Rochester Coal and Iron Mine,  and President of the Street Railways in both Buffalo and Rochester, plus owner of many Coal mines in Pennsylvania and Indiana, was a large shareholder in this mine.  He visited Estevan in his Personal Railcar called the "Virginia" arriving after dark on Sept. 10, 1892. Mr. Yates described an 8 ft. thick seam of coal on his visit to this mine, with an abundance of height or covering to ensure a good quality in the coal.  Estevan was only a month old when he visited, and he was impressed with the improvements made so early in the town.        Mr. S. B. Elliot, General Manager of the Rochester and Pittsburgh Coal and Iron Company,   who was travelling with him, describes this mine- Estevan Mines are located in a coulee,  which is crossed by the Soo Railroad, and are reached by a branch line about 3,000 feet long.  The screens, pan, tipple and chutes were made in Pittsburgh.  Mr. Elliot was a Geologist, botanist and Astronomer.       Riding with them in this luxurious rail car, was a Mr. Melville L. Cobb, described as a Coal King from Boston, handling half a million tons of coal a year there. With them, were 4 from Winnipeg, Mr. Angus M. Kirkland,  Lawyer William Egerton Perdue (1850-1933), Mr. William Forbes Alloway.  and Major James Morrow Walsh.  This was a train full of very rich men.  Most if not all Millionaires. Mr. Angus Kirkland, b- Dec 28, 1840, ON, d- June 3, 1906,Toronto, ON.  Manager, Winnipeg branch of the Bank of Montreal He was transferred to the Toronto Branch from Winnipeg, in 1897.  In 1871 he was age 21 in London, ON. as a clerk   Mr. William Forbes Alloway, b-Aug 20, 1852 in Queen's County, The Derries, Ireland,  d- Feb 2, 1930, in Winnipeg, MB.   Son of Arthur William Alloway,  immigrated in 1855, age 3.   He started the Winnipeg Foundation with a gift of $100,000 in 1921.    In 1910 he was listed as one of 19, Winnipeg Millionaires.   He was known to be a silent partner in many mining interests.   He was partners in a Private Bank, the Alloway and Champion Bank at 667 Main St. in Winnipeg.  He was one of the first members of Winnipeg Police force.  Private in the Wolseley Expedition, came to Winnipeg 4 days before his 18th birthday.        Major James Morrow Walsh of NWMP fame, b- May 22, 1840 in Prescott, County of Grenville,  ON, d- July 25, 1905 in Brockville ON.  He was in command of D troop, NWMP in July 1874. Resigned and retired Sept 1, 1883 from the NWMP in the Yukon,  He was the President of  the Dominion Coal, Coke and Transportation Company which he established in Brandon. He knew the General manager of the CPR, William Cornelius Van Horne, in Fort Qu'Appelle, while he was there for 2 years. He sold his coal to the CPR, his biggest customer. He built an elaborate home named Indian Chief in Brockville ON. He had 2 partners in Coal Company in Winnipeg, before this one.    He was heavily involved in this coal mine.  Major Walsh said this mine would be putting out coal, from a few days to a fortnight of their visit.  He is listed in a tale that is told book, as owning NE 1/4 of Section 22, Tsp 2, Rge 8, W2 Entry Aug 8, 1892, Coal Land Sale #77 Receipt of patent, Sept 9, 1892. Aug 19, 1892, the miners were erecting the tipple at the main drift. Article below from Aug 20, 1892 By October 1892, 75 men were to be needed. Output expected to be 400-500 tons/ day Oct 13, 1892 a disagreement with a Dr. Selwyn, (who was Chief of the Geological Survey, and who was not a fan of Lignite Coal), and Major Walsh, over how to start up this mine. Mr. Walsh supports Mr Elliott's findings. Article below written by Professor Rev. Dr. Bryce, Aug 20, 1892, He was a Presbyterian Minister, who arrived to pick a site for their Church. Interesting to note, the location of Estevan was originally going to be on the west side of the ravine, where Kentucky Fried Chicken is now. The entrance to the mine it says, was on the north side of the Coulee, which is strange, as it runs fairly North and South there? But then I found this 3 part article below  which clearly describes the location of the mine. written in Oct 21, 1892. We now know it was on the west side of the ravine. with a drift running into the sides of the highest banks, about 50 ft. from the bottom of the ravine. They were already 200 feet in in Oct. 1892, and then added more drifts to test the seam. The CPR mine spur was down in the bottom of the ravine. The tipple was 200 ft. further south of the drifts. As you will read they wasted some time, on one of the drifts, until Major Walsh arrived back to correct the error. Of course the big worry was if there was enough coal for Manitoba, not if there was good coal for Estevan and area. or What was to be Saskatchewan for that matter. It was all going east to Winnipeg. This was the Coal Mine just NW of ECI, In the ravine to the west of present day Westview, which had a large Company Boarding House, located on the end of 3rd st at that time. The boarding house was later moved, to the corner of 12th Ave. and 4th St., where the Bank of Commerce is today (2009), It was used as a residence, and as the Bank of Hamilton Offices, and a lawyer's office. When the Bank of Commerce was built in 1910, it was moved to 1121 3rd st. and used as a funeral home. First McNeil, then Lee's Estevan Funeral Home, then Orsted Funeral Home, until they built their new place on 4th st..   Today 1121 3rd st. is the City Fire hall Map of today shows rough locations of the mine and Company Boarding House. The boarding house was about a block from the mine. Where I have shown the boarding house, (B) might not be 100% correct. It could be on the west side, of what is today Alice Rd. I know the bank of the ravine is after the row of houses on west side of Alice Rd. When I visit in Aug 2009, I plan on trying to locate this mine, and taking some photos if possible. The following article, Dec 24, 1892 describes the scene in the ravine,  from the boarding house. It also describes a couple of the other mines in this area. Wilkinson Bros had a mine, 2 miles south, and the Ruby and Asikieson? If you can figure this name out, let me know. A William Wilkinson had a homestead on SW Sec 30, Tsp 2, Rge8, W2. I have no idea who owned the Ruby mine. And there is no name resembling the Asikieson? spelling, in any of the Tsp 2 land records.. End of this article describes the Yard Engine #100 had trouble with frost on the track, and couldn't stop, until running into an empty car. In 1895 Inspector J. O. Wilson's Police report states the Dominion Mining Company  moved it's operation to Coalfields.  So this mine was short lived. Sept 5, 11:30 am, a miner named William Warren nearly died from a cave-in of sand and clay, as the roof fell in while he was adding timber supports. Dr. Scott administered to him,  and he was expected to be about in a few days..   Article below Sept 8, 1892, describes the company at least bought locally, and supported the new town. Nov 8, 1892, production to increase to 200 tons/day. Extra men were hired, and they were now working night and day. Nov 9, 1892- coal from the mine was sold at $3.00/ton delivered. But competition was starting as Mr. George Rooks, and Mr. Laurie Hanna found a new coal mine, and price was predicted to be $2--2.50 a ton. They needed capital to continue their mine. They found what they claimed to be an endless 8ft seam. Article Dec 7, 1892, states they are increasing production to between 200-350 tons/day. It states they are in the drift,  a considerable distance now. A Locomotive from Port Arthur was arriving to do the shunting at the mine. Engine #100 above obviously. Major Walsh was expected to visit that week.        Interesting sideline, Major Walsh sent in names, for the naming of Estevan, to the CPR, and he had a few suggestions, "Pittsburgh", "Yatesburgh" and "Yates", now you know why these were suggested.   He also sent in "Shaughnessy", but it to was rejected.  Not sure why he wanted that one.   He was just trying to please the guy with the money!        Major Walsh of course came thru the district with the NWMP in 1874, so he knew all about the coal deposits here.   He left the NWMP in the Yukon,  retired in 1898, and shortly after he came to Estevan, via Winnipeg.   He knew a good thing when he seen it earlier.  He was known to the Natives as White Chief of the Assiniboines. Jan 9, 1893, Coal output was increased at this mine, and sold in Winnipeg for $4.50 /ton. Jan 16, 1893, Dominion Illustrated came to Estevan, and Mr. H. J. Woodside, from Portage La Prairie, took some photos, his tour guide was Mr. Phil Walsh. Sept 15, 1893, the company is now working at Estevan and Roche Percee. Mr. Phil Walsh is at Estevan for the winter.    June 2, 1894, Major Walsh, described as Manager, described their new mine, 3 miles down the valley, east of Roche Percee, alongside the Hassard mine, the Property of The Souris Coal Mining Company. Coal quality harder than at Estevan. He is still adamant the Estevan Mine will remain open.        Now where did it go in Coalfields? Well the answer to that question appears in an article below, from Sept 12, 1894. They moved the mine to Roche Percee, and looks like it was near the old Hassard mine, which was bought by the Souris Coal Company. Looks like a Mr. L. O. Bailey, James Wilkinson, and James Turner, were left to operate their coal mines near Estevan. This was the end of the Dominion Coal Company in Estevan.        The Dominion Coal Company also operated in the Nova Scotia area,  and other eastern sites.