Sheerness – Rose Lynn – Sunnynook – Carolside

The four towns that are the subject of this report, Sheerness, Rose Lynn, Sunnynook and Carolside, are located in a remote corner of Alberta, far off any beaten path. Each lasted only a short while and in fact there is little to see today, but even so they still left their mark on the world, which we hope to explore.

These adventure takes us to the dry plains southeast of Hanna.

Our first stop is Sheerness, I believe what was once the largest town of the four. It’s home to a huge coal mine that butts right up against the old town site. In addition, there is an old store and school. Unfortunately when we arrived it was raining, no pouring, and any photos we shot were quick ones from an open car window. We hung around for perhaps half an hour hoping the deluge would dissipate (steamy windows!), but it didn’t and so we reluctantly moved on.

↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ Scroll down for photos and to comment ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓

As mentioned we did get a couple quick shots off however. The store, I am pretty sure it’s the store, is a long narrow affair. It leans and sags but appears in reasonable shape. Since it’s boarded up that will keep the animals and elements out. I pretty sure this building is the “Lucke’ store, so named for it’s owner Harold “Pop” Lucke, mentioned in the book “Roads to Rose Lynn”. In that article, a small picture of the building is shown, which is close enough in appearance to the one we see today, that I am fairly confident it’s the same.

This store was opened in 1923 and was operated by Lucke until the mid 1930s when he sold the business. It’s not clear what happened after that, which invites further research. One can assume the business operated for a time, perhaps into the 1950s, or maybe even longer. I doubt much longer though as the town was in decline after world war two. Farming was hard and coal mining was on the downturn and many people simply moved away.

The school is the only other building left in town. It’s an interesting structure and I’d sure liked to have gotten closer. The rain kept us in the car, but anyway the were no trespassing signs about, which we have to respect. It’s not clear when it was built although we know part of the building was a second school brought in from the town of Richdale north of Sheerness. It’s not known when this happened or even when the original school opened or when it closed. Data is scarce and so you can expect updates to this post.

In between the two buildings are some old foundations, but it’s unknown what they may have been. An access road leads to the mine from a spot just behind the store. The gate says Manalta Coals Ltd, which was the owner of the property back in the 1980s and 90s. The mine has changed hands a couple times since then.

A few people still call Sheerness home.

Detouring a bit, we check out the Sheerness Coal Mine nearby and it’s neighbour, the Sheerness generating plant. Together they are what we call a captive mine-mouth plant, meaning all the coal from the mine goes to feed the power station. In times past the output of this mine (there was actually several mines, all sort of consolidated into one) was shipped out by the railway to many customers far and wide. The first commercial coal mines here date from around 1910. We photographed one drag line at work, the “Prairie Rose”, a Page model 736 which has been here since the mid 1980s. We saw a second drag line off in the distance, but it was too far away to shoot.

Heading back, our next stop is Rose Lynn, but unfortunately most of the old town site it is on private land. It doesn’t look like much is left anyway. The only vintage building we could see from the road was the old school. We don’t know much about it other than it was the former the Mizpah school moved here at some unknown date.

Travelling down, or should I say alongside, the rail line we come to Sunnynook. We looked but could not find anything worthwhile to photograph. There were some houses, but nothing in the way of old buildings, foundations, remains or even signs of the old rail line (outside of one little concrete culvert). Nothing to see here…move along. By now the rain had mostly stopped.

Further down the line and the last entry for this report is Carolside. I’ve been looking forward to this stop as I know nothing is left. Nothing, no businesses, no houses. Since it’s located in an uncultivated pasture, and since no one lives close by, we have free run of the place. I know there is not much here, but I am hoping find some hints from past – perhaps some foundations, bits of old wood and brick and cement and the like. Little clues to help us connect to our subject.

This is my kind of place – rarely visited if ever and totally forgotten by everyone. Except by us of course. We are probably the first visitors in eons who have come specially to see the town site.

And sure enough we find what we are looking for, those bits of wood and cellar depressions we hoped to discover. One can make out a couple streets, the locations of buildings, the rail line and perhaps where the station stood, the former an earthen embankment right alongside the old rail line. There is no real way to know what each building could have been, unless we could find an old map or photo showing “downtown Carolside”, but so far none have turned up. In fact, this author has found zero pictures showing the town. We do however know one was here, now proven by our field research.

Oddly Google still shows the town map even if the streets are long gone. Like many small towns, the two most important thoroughfares were Main and Railway. Nearby we see what could be a buffalo rubbing stone. There are some in the area I understand, used as sort of a scratching posts by the passing herds. This one appears worn smooth, which is typical of these stones.

Rules of exploration: show respect, don’t trespass and take only pictures.

Based upon what little information we can find, Carolside lasted for only a few years. Founded in early 1920s when the railway came through, I am certain it did not last long. There was a grain elevator here until the late 1950s, but I am pretty sure the town was long gone by that date. It was a flash in the pan, a hoped for bustling community than never really amounted to anything.

Just north of the town (haha town) is a nice train trestle we found. Next visit, I may take the time to walk in to examine it closer. I am after all, the bridge hunter, among other things.

All the towns mentioned so far owe their existence to the railway which came through about 1920. This CNR branch, known as the Peavine Line, was built south from a point near Hanna, ending along side the Red Deer River at a place called Stephenville. They intended to extend the line all the way to Medicine Hat, and parts of it were constructed but never finished. This line was abandoned by the late 1970s and by then most of the towns were either gone completely or just a shells of their former self. Today, the rail line can easily be followed on Google Earth, including the partially completed section south to “The Hat”.

To be honest, I think I could have documented all these towns a little better than I did. The rain kept us at bay and trespassing on private property was another concern. I’m thinking the area is worth a revisit, perhaps armed with permission (if that’s even possible) to access some of the sites that were off limits.

While travelling in the area, we found three very interesting farms, one called the the Mink Ranch, the other the Burns Farm and the last, the Cessford stone house.

Update: October 2013. According to a reader of this blog, the Sheerness School closed in 1964.

If you like this artcile, you might enjoy these as well…
Rowley Alberta ghost town.
Finnegan Alberta.
Retlaw ghost town.

If you’d like to know more about these places, by all means contact us!

Date: August 2013.
Location: Sheerness, Rose Lynn, Sunnynook and Carolside, AB.

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Sheerness AB store

Sheerness – the former store in the pouring rain.

Manalta Coal Sheerness

Sheerness – access to the nearby strip mines just behind the store. Manalta was a former owner.

Sheerness AB school

Sheerness – the school house.

Sheerness AB foundation

Sheerness – an old foundation in the rain.

Rose Lynn old rail line

Rose Lynn – the long abandoned CNR Sheerness branch (the Peavine line).

Rose Lynn AB school

Rose Lynn – the school.

Sheerness AB power plant

The Sheerness generating station.

Sheerness AB coal mine

The Sheerness mine which feeds the power plant across the highway.

Sheerness mine dragline

The “Prairie Rose” at work. We saw a second drag line, but it was too far away to shoot.

Sunnynook AB

Sunnynook – nothing to see here…move along.

Carolside Alberta

Carolside – the road into “town”.

Carolside AB remains

Carolside – old junk scattered about.

Carolside AB ghost town

Carolside – old planks hint that something once stood here.

Carolside AB

Carolside – old telegraph poles.

Carolside AB railway

Carolside – it’s hard to see but this earthen platform was likely where the train station was. The rail bed is to the left.

Carolside AB rubbing stone

Carolside – possibly a buffalo rubbing stone.

Carolside AB building depression

Carolside – a number of these former building depressions were found.

Carolside AB town

Carolside – outside of scattered junk there is not much here.

Carolside AB building foundation

Carolside – another foundation, according to Google on the comer of Main and Railway.

Carolside AB train trestle

Carolside – not far away we spotted this train trestle on the abandoned line.

61 responses

  1. Dennis Carr says:

    I spelled Ed Kolbinson’s name incorrectly it is as I have shown here. I have some other info that I will put together that you might find interesting. It is the complete list of persons that acted as postmasters in Sheerness from the first post office to the last one. I may be able to put some names to the people that had mining claims throughout the immediate area if you are interested.

  2. Dennis Carr says:

    My family moved to Sheerness in late 1952. I was in grade 1 and Mrs. Bishop taught grades 1 to 4. Don Campbell was principal and he later moved to Calgary. As I recall Bert Griffin taught grades 5 to 8. Mr. Lee took over teaching grades 9 to 11 and after him was John Leniuk. There were other teachers for a short time before the school closed, my brother Richard was one of them and I believe Mrs. Holt also.
    The store was being run by Audy Mellom when we arrived but Ed Colbinson ran it prior to that, Ed was also post master. Audy was postmaster for a time but I believe Mrs. George Hoover held that title prior to that. After Audy left, the store was eventually run by Dick and Olga Wrigley for a time & Mrs. Heck was postmistress. Dick worked full time at the mine and Olga ran the boarding house prior to taking over the store.
    I left there in 1966 and my parents left in 1967.

  3. Ted Fitchett says:

    Hi Chris

    Ted again

    Sheerness Alberta

    The store in your pictures was sold by Lucke to the Lamb family who operated it until about 1963 or 64.

    My parents bought the Sheerness school and property in about 1967 or 68. They made it into a residence which was not the best idea as there was no insulation and it was huge. A good thing it sat next to a coal mine as it could eat a ½ ton of coal on a bad winter day. They also owned the old store and property. My parents ran cattle on the Manalta Mine property. The mine took purchased the property and took possession about 2014. The buildings are slated for demolition and the land to be strip mined. A lot of old records and things inside.

    Thank you for all the awesome pictures and memories

    Ted

    • Gobsmacked!
      A house from the school? Fine in concept but as you say bad in practice given the conditions. Yes, I heard the town is doomed. That’s a sad eventuality for sure. Thanks for dropping by!

      • Sid Holt says:

        Daddy won’t you take me back to Muhlenberg County,
        Down by the Green River,where Paradise lay.
        I’m sorry my son,but you’re too late in asking,
        Mr. Peabody’s coal train has hauled it away.
        John Prine

  4. James Murray says:

    If interested I have a hand drawn Ariel view of Sheerness that I drew about 40 years ago showing roads and housing along with the positions of the old coal tipple and work shops. It shows positions of school,hall, post office, store,elevator,train station etc.

    The old store was in operation through the 50,s and ran by Audy Mellom and family. To the left or east was a old foundation. About where you took the picture from was the old post office.behind you would be the road north to train station and elevator To the left or east of that same spot was a hall. The picture of the school and immediately to the west or right was the ball diamond and play ground.To the right of that was a small teacherage about half way back to the old store. As near as I can figure the school closed in 1963 any we were all users to Hanna. The coal mine closed in 1968. My parents moved there in 1949 and left in 1969. The mine was later reopened and some time later the power plant was built.

    More gifts of info if wanted

  5. Chris varty says:

    I was born and raised in H.B.O.G gas plant employee housing and both my brother and myself went to New Cessford School. my brother graduated in 1976 and myself in 1982 my mother worked at the Cessford school i am very familiar with all the surrounding area mentioned Sunnynook Carolside PollockVille Finnigan Square deal corner and Wardlow
    Loved growing up there made many friends and still try to keep in contact with many of them

    • Awesome, I can’t believe how many people we’ve heard from who are from the area. Such cool memories and thanks for sharing. Please come back again, read our post till you can’t read no more, and comment again when you can.

  6. Barb Hartman (Walker) says:

    I went to school in Sheerness from 1951 to 1958 when we moved to Hanna. My mother taught at the school up until December 1945 when I arrived. Then my God-mother, Mrs Bishop, took over. Mr Griffin and Mr Lee joined the staff in 1954 and we became a 3 teacher school. I lived in the house that is not there any more, across the road from the front of the store.

    • Thanks for sharing these wonderful memories! Amazing. We’ve sure heard from a lot of people connected to this tiny place.

    • Bob Lee says:

      Barb Walker, we moved to Sheerness in summer of 1957 and we spent a couple years in school, first in Burt Griffins class then into Dads class, you must have moved in 59. Did you not live in the camp for while, maybe beside Hirsh’s and Swards??? Then you were in Grade 11 when I was in Grade 12 in Hanna Talk at you soon
      Bob

  7. Clayton Heck says:

    I grew up 6 miles outside of Sunnyook to the Northeast. Just behind Ribstone, which is a potential historic site, and has lots of history associated with it since Indigenous times. My family the Heck’s were a fourth generation farming/ranching operation since 1900’s. Sunnynook has a great history and if you know where to look, you will see foundations of the old hall and other buildings. We knocked over a bunch for safety of the children in the community to prevent harm to them as they were old and ready to collapse. Even though I am only 40 years old, I still remember doing activities in there such as Halloween and playing hockey. There is also an old cemetery at the outskirts of the current town. Also along that same path is the old wagon track road for going to Berry Creek. You honestly did no work or even tried and then attempted to cover your half ass efforts up (due to rain) by minimizing the details. Also, you never even included the old Roselyn ball diamonds. If you ever want to visit that area again, feel free to contact me for a guided tour, I’d love to show you around and explain what you can’t see.

    • We’ve been called out! We LOVE you! Dead right, we did no work. Not just a weather thing – if you browse this website you know THAT rarely slows us down – but more a time problem. So many places we need to be…I’m sure you can relate. This was a silly little visit, rushed, fun, casual, nothing serious like we usually do. These types of write ups often contain elements of dry-wit or tongue-in-cheek humour, sometimes very subtly so, and this applies here. We KNOW there’s lots of interesting stuff in that neck of the woods (not everything you listed, but some) and have even documented some old places near by in a far more in depth way, and we were just having a bit of fun at Sunnynook’s expense.

      Of course, we’d love to take you up on your offer. Sounds like there’s lots more we didn’t know about. Expect an email from sometime this week.

    • jim pearson says:

      Clayton Heck
      I would be delighted if you would contact me at xxxxxxxx@xxxxx.xxx
      We had a ranch in the mid 1950s east of Sunnynook.
      I have many fond memories of the area especially branding time with Bill and Johnny Heck.

  8. Wayne Chayer says:

    I was raised in Sunnynook and left in the early 60’s after finishing school. I attended schools in Sunnynook, Sheerness and grade 12 in Hanna. I haven’t been back for a few years but surprised most of the buildings are gone. I recently setup a page on Facebook which would be of interest to anyone who knew that area. It’s at https://www.facebook.com/sunnynook.ab/ Come and check it out.

    • Awesome, we checked out the page. Over the years, we must have heard from every single person that ever lived in the area. It’s amazing how many have contacted us or commented. I think it’s time to revisit the places seen in this report. This post was from so long ago and we’re better at it now than we were then. Anyone from the area listening? Thanks for commenting!

  9. Al Holtemeyer says:

    I grew up at the place straight north of the old store (about 1/4 mile), this was the original town site of Sheerness, there is still a basement hole from another old store (was located at the Northwest corner of our home place). One of my early childhood friends was the son of the foreman of the CNR Section Crew – they lived in the old stationhouse (no longer there), we had a couple of grain elevators, at one point in the history of Sheerness, there were at least a couple of medical doctors as well.
    Remember going to the store as a kid, I attended the Sheerness School for one year when there was talk about closing the school – was bused to Hanna with Gerald Murray and other kids from the area.
    I sold the Sheerness place in about 1996-97 to a couple of gentlemen that raised racing horses.
    Growing up at Sheerness with the other kids from the “Mine Camp” was an interesting experience.

  10. Bob Lee says:

    Store at Sheerness was owned in the late fifties, early sixties by Audie Mellom and family, wife Edna, children Linda and Brian, believe was sold to Olga Wrigley who operated it till 1965é1966.
    Frank Lee was principal at school from 1958 to 1962, Wife Eileen sons Trevor and Robert, Community Hall was two story across road from school land. Town was home to about twenty families at the Western Dominion Coal Co. and the Rose Lynn mine Co. Grain elevator and station were half mile north of store. Great fun feeding Kirks furnace in school when thirty below
    Only homes with running water where the teacherage, foundation behind school and mine mabnagers house, still standing in trees to west.

    • This is amazing! Thanks so much for commenting. Given the small population of the area, we’ve sure heard from a lot of people connected to it. Again, a big thanks for helping add to the story.

    • Barb Hartman (Walker) says:

      Bob, I wondered who Audie sold the store to.

      • Bob Lee says:

        Barb, Audie sold it to Olga Wrigley, and moved to Castor where he wnt back teaching, and also worked at government liquor store, still no discounts though, Brian became a teacher and was teaching in Consort, last I heard, Linda I believe lives down in Enchant I live ion Calgary and Trevor in Stettler where we also have a cabin..Bob

  11. Don Tipping says:

    My Family homesteaded near Carolside, around 1914, My Father was born there in 1925

  12. Chris says:

    I used to live in the beige & brown house in Rose Lynn 🙂

  13. Gerald Murray says:

    I was born in Sheerness in 1953. Attended the Sheerness school. I went from grade one to grade four. That is when we were bused to Hanna school. I must have some photos of the old town site some where. A family by the name of Fidget (not sure spelling is right) bought the school and lived in it for years after the school closed. My best friends mom was the last owner of the old store. Last name of friend was wriggled but his mom remarried to an Owens.

  14. Dennis Lamb says:

    I attended the old Sheerness school from grade1 to grade 10. The school closed in 1964.

  15. Eric says:

    Around us it looks like most of the homesteads, which presumably dotted the prairie around here at one point, have been torn down or rotted away.

    Here’s one I did explore a month or so ago:

    http://www.small-cabin.com/forum/1_3681_0.html

  16. Mike Rose says:

    Interesting to see Sheerness School. It looks unloved. My friend Janice went there. We were later classmates at Mount Royal College.

  17. Eric says:

    You sure do go off the beaten track! I haven’t been to any of these “towns,” but they are fairly close to our new stomping ground at Little Fish Lake, where we have acquired what I affectionately call my “hermit shack.” The missus doesn’t allow me to wander too far off the already remote roads that take us to Little Fish, but we do travel through delightful little hamlets like Dalum on our way there.

    • We spent and enjoyable day at Little Fish Lake a few years ago. I like that it’s remote and off of…well…the beaten path. If you get the chance it’s worth exploring the area further. There are a lot of abandoned homesteads and the like. Juts be sure you only pictures and leave only footprints.

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