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The Hinton Mine |
| The first long term settlement in the general Hinton area
was in 1888 when Jack Gregg opened a trading post at Prairie Creek
(Maskuta Creek), at the western end of modern Hinton. The post was
located on the Japer Trail and served travellers, local residents and
trappers.
In 1908 the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway built a construction camp on the Prairie Creek flats, creating a new population base for a time. In 1912, coal was prospected east of the trading post and a new settlement grew up near Happy Creek. In 1914, the Canadian Northern Railway established its station called Bliss near Hardisty Creek, three miles east of the Happy Creek settlement. In 1915, another station called Dalehurst was established east of all these prior locations and it was the official postal station for the area. By 1925, prospecting of coal near Hardisty Creek led to another new settlement, Drinnan. This small scattering of sidings and facilities represented the area until 1931 when Frank Seabolt, R.W.Jones and Harry King opened the Hinton coal mine. The area population boomed to 1000 by 1939. By 1950, the Hinton area was caught in the recession created by the falling coal market and the population dropped below 100. In 1956, Hinton was revitalized by the establishment of the North West Pulp and Power LTD mill. Two communities re-established themselves, Drinnan and Hinton, and in 1957 they amalgamated.
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