History

It began with a whistle stop. Prior to 1900, there was a railroad stop in the region known as Sparwood, which was so named because of the trees from this area being shipped to the Coast for manufacturing spars for ocean vessels.

In the late 1800s and early 1900s, coal development in our region resulted in the creation of three small communities known as Michel, Natal and Sparwood, respectively. The former two communities were in the immediate area of the coal mines and the latter, Sparwood, was a few miles removed.

By 1966, the Village of Natal and the settlement of Michel had become adversely affected by coal dust. The Village of Natal, in cooperation with the Provincial and Federal Governments, entered into an Urban Renewal and Land Assembly program, which eventually resulted in the townspeople of Natal and Michel moving to Sparwood.

Sparwood has a storied collection of tales and events all shaped by the coal industry, and the strength of the community is still proudly founded on the coal for which it all began.