The modernhistory of Lethbridge extends to the mid-19th century, when the area was developed fromdrift mines opened byNicholas Sheran in 1874, and theNorth Western Coal and Navigation Company in 1882. Prior to the development of drift mines in the area,Lethbridge,Alberta was known as Coal Banks, and was part of the territory of theBlackfoot Confederacy.^[1] The Confederacy was made up of theKainai Nation, theNorthern Peigan, theSouthern Peigan (Blackfeet), and theSiksika Nation.^[2]

After theUnited States Army outlawed alcohol trading in 1869 with theBlood nation in Montana, tradersJohn J. Healy andAlfred B. Hamilton started the whisky trading post Fort Hamilton^[3] near the junction of theSt. Mary andOldman rivers.^[2][4] It was burned down, but they rebuilt it and eventually it came to be nicknamedFort Whoop-Up.^[5] The whisky traded at this post was often not much more than alcohol, river water, chewing tobacco and lye.

The whisky trade eventually led to the massacre of manyAssiniboines in theCypress Hills area by someAmericans in 1873. As a result, theNorth-West Mounted Police (now the RCMP) were established, and a contingent travelled to southern Alberta to stop the trade and establish order.^[6][7] The NWMP arrived at Fort Whoop-Up on 9 October 1874.^[8] Later in 1875, the NWMP established a post at Fort Whoop-up by renting a room from Healy and Hamilton. For the next twelve years, the fort continued to trade (although not in "whisky") while also hosting a NWMP post.

By the 1870s,Nicholas Sheran (an American entrepreneur) mined a coal seam in the coulees on the west side of what is now the Oldman River. He sold what he mined to Montana traders and the NWMP.^[2][9]

Sir Alexander Tilloch Galt was interested in the success Sheran was having. He knew a transcontinental railway was soon to be built in the area,^[10] and the settlers it would bring would create a profitable market for the coal.^[2][9]

On 13 October 1882, Galt's companyNorth Western Coal and Navigation Company opened the first drift mine^[11][12] across from Sheran's operation. This mine was managed by William Stafford.^[2] The first president and largest shareholder of the company,William Lethbridge, was the one after whom the town was named.

By the start of the 20th century, the mines employed about 150 men and produced about 300 tonnes of coal each day.^[2] By the time production peaked during World War I, 10 mines employed 2,000 miners and produced 1 million tonnes of coal annually. At the time, Lethbridge area collieries were the largest coal producers in theNorthwest Territories.^[13]

After the war, an increase in oil and natural gas production caused a decline in coal production,^[2] and the last mine in Lethbridge closed in 1957. Some of this mine, Galt No. 8, still stands today, and a local society is attempting to renovate it as a museum or interpretive centre.

The firstrail line was built in Lethbridge, being completed 28 August 1885 by theAlberta Railway and Coal Company. The line was further extended 595 kilometres beyond Lethbridge and was instrumental in feeding the mainCPR lines at the time the ARCC sold it to the CPR in 1912. Because of the rail industry's dependence of coal and the CPR's efforts to settle immigrants in southern Alberta, the railway centre of Lethbridge was instrumental in the economic success of the region.^[14] In the mid-1980s, the railyards in downtown Lethbridge were moved to nearbyKipp and Lethbridge ceased operating as a hub for rail traffic.

On 25 December 1907, an altercation occurred at the Dallas Hotel (now the Coalbanks Inn) on 5 Street South indowntown Lethbridge. Reportedly, the altercation was between a Chinese employee working the hotel's restaurant and aCaucasian customer.

Word of the altercation spread and somehow escalated into rumours the employee had killed the customer. As a result, a large crowd gathered at the hotel and ransacked the restaurant. Shortly after, they moved to nearby Chinatown to wreak havoc there.

At this point, the local police gathered to control the situation andmayor W. S. Galbraith read theRiot Act to those gathered. As a result, everything was brought under control and the crowd soon dispersed.^[15]

After the CPR moved thedivisional point of its Crowsnest Line from Fort Macleod to Lethbridge in 1905, the city became a regional centre forSouthern Alberta; something the region did not have previously.^[2] Between 1907 and 1913, a development boom occurred in Lethbridge, making it the main marketing, distribution and service centre in southern Alberta.^[2] Several municipal projects, a construction boom, and rising real estate prices transformed the mining town into a significant city.^[2]

Part of the impetus behind the municipal projects above was the city playing host to the 7th International Dry-Farming Congress in 1912. As recently as 1911, the city had no facilities to host an event of this significance. By the time the event arrived in October, the city had spent $1.35 million pavingdowntown streets, putting in cement sidewalks, improving the water and sewer systems, building astreet railcar system, creatingHenderson Park and setting aside 60 acres (24 ha) for theExhibition Grounds. Despite the event attracting thousands of delegates from throughout Canada and such places as China,Italy, andIndia, the city's tax base of only 8,000 could not support those improvements. The city carried the debt for decades after. Even so, the Lethbridge Herald labelled the event as "the greatest week in the history of the city".^[16]

Between World War I and World War II, the city experienced an economic slump. Development slowed, drought drove farmers from their farms andcoal mining rapidly declined from its peak before 1920.^[2] Following WWII, irrigation in the surrounding area caused the city's population to swell, which in turn boosted the local economy. Lethbridge Community College (nowLethbridge College) opened in April 1957, and theUniversity of Lethbridge in 1967.^[2]

Before settlement, the area where Lethbridge is located was known as TheArid Region. After geological surveys around 1880 revealed an abundance of coal, it became called The Belly River Coal District. Afterthe Galts introducedirrigation to counter the Arid Region problems around 1900, the locality became called the Irrigated District. Finally, as an aid to land sales after the rush of dryland settlement started about 1905, the non-irrigable portion was called The Winter Wheat Lands.

Other names the area was known by are as follows:

• Blackfoot
  • Aksaysim, also transliterated asAksiiksahko orSteep Banks
  • Mek-kio-towaghs, alsoMiiksskoowa, variously translated asPainted Rock,Red Painted Rock, orMedicine Stone
  • Assini-etomochi, alsoAsinaawaiitomottsaawa, orWhere We Slaughtered theCrees
  • Sik-ooh-kotok,Black/Rocks orCoal
• Sarcee
  • Chadish-kashi,Black/Rocks
• Cree
  • Kuskusukisay-guni,Black/Rocks
• Stony
  • Ipubin-saba-akabin, orDigging Coal
• English
  • Coal Banks
  • Sherans, orSheran's Ferry
  • The Crossing
  • The Colliery
  • Newlethbridge
  • Lethbridge Colliery
  • Upper and Lower Town
  • Coalhurst
  • Riverside

Since October 15, 1885, the nameLethbridge has been the official term.^[14] The name Lethbridge was in common unofficial use for the river bottom community at least as early as May 1884.

• History of Alberta

• History of Lethbridge

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