Lundbreck, Alberta

Left: Lundbreck Falls.  Retrieved from http://www.travelwestvisual.com

Right: Lundbreck Main Street.  Retrieved from http://www.crowsnest-highway.ca

Lundbreck is a hamlet located in sunny southwestern Alberta and holds the distinction of being the eastern entrance to the Crowsnest Pass. Lundbreck is a part of the Pincher Creek (No. 9) Municipal District and is 10 minutes from Pincher Creek by car and one hour from Lethbridge. Since Lundbreck is a hamlet, there is no local administrative office and all local dealings are handled by the Municipal District of Pincher Creek. Lundbreck is a part of a close knit district with many villages closely located geographically, with Cowley 6 km to the east, and Burmis 10 km to the west. 

Lundbreck, unlike Cowley, is not located on Highway 3, the heavily traveled Crowsnest Highway. As such, Lundbreck is at a disadvantage since it is off the beaten track and travelers are less likely to stop into the community. As well, being off the highway, Lundbreck is bypassed by the widely used scenic Highway 22, the designated “Cowboy Trail”.  However, the natural marvels that encircle Lundbreck attract a modest amount of tourists and travelers into the hamlet.

Lundbreck’s main advantage is that it lies between some of the most magnificent geographical features of southern Alberta. To the east lie the Livingstone Mountain Range, the Crowsnest River, Oldman River, Castle River and directly south -- Lundbreck Falls.

Lundbreck’s main street is a carbon copy of  the typical rural Alberta community. The most interesting spot was a historic two-story outhouse that was left standing after the Windsor Hotel burned in 1963. Local residents saw it as an embarrassing eyesore and not as a historical point of interest. As a result, the landmark now resides in Calgary’s Heritage Park and stands behind the Wainright Hotel.

Based on the scenic beauty of the district, Lundbreck is surrounded by an abundant amount of provincial parks, historical sites, recreational areas and camping grounds. The most popular sites include Lundbreck Provincial Park & Recreational Area, Frank Slide Provincial Historic Site, Leitch Collieries Provincial Historic Site, Castle Falls Forestry Provincial Recreation Area, and Maycroft Provincial Park. As such, the area is a prominent fishing, hiking, hunting, and camping destination.

A popular tourist destination, Lunbreck Falls is an incredible sight. On a backdrop of mountains and sky, the Crowsnest River plunges thirty feet into a canyon below. Lundbreck Falls lies within the "Burmis-Lundbreck Corridor", which in 1980 was declared an acreage region, where the appropriate mix of community growth and environmental sustainability would be sought. The Municipal District of Pincher Creek's intentions were to market the area to retirees as a picturesque place to live with  “estate-sized” lots.

A fair-sized community, Lundbreck has 234 town residents with nearly 400 countryside residents.  There are no statistics directly for Lundbreck, but the Pincher Creek M.D. has experienced a tiny population change of 0.72% from 1996 to 2001.

Lundbreck began in 1903 with Peter Lund and John Breckenridge who began digging low grade coal from a site that is now Lundbreck’s sports grounds. The name Lundbreck was derived from combining the beginnings of both individuals’ last names and became official in 1906 with the naming of the Post Office. The two entrepreneurs were brought to the area by contracts they had with CP to construct the CNL lines near the Frank Slide.  In 1902 they formed the Crow’s Nest Pass Lumber Company, located in Wardner B.C. Looking for new business opportunities, they traveled the Crowsnest region where they realized that coal was the obvious choice with its expanding market.  In 1903 they settled their new venture, Lund and Breckenridge Coal Company in Lundbreck and released $500,000 worth of shares.

From 1903 onward, the coal industry expanded. Lundbreck evolved to meet the needs of the expanding economy with the addition of a local business core and community involvement. 1906 brought the Windsor Hotel, followed by a pharmacy (1907), church (1908), and school (1910). Lundbreck’s historical foundation, the Lund and Breckenridge Coal Company, closed in 1912 after struggling through the 1911 coal strike. It is to the credit of Lundbreck’s founding pioneers that the settlement didn’t collapse after the mines left. Local ranchers and the flourmill built by the Cowley Doukhobor commune helped stabilize Lundbreck. 

Not much is left of the founding coal industry. Today the hamlet’s main industry is manufacturing with the South West Concrete plant acting as Lundbreck’s economic cornerstone, Ron McCulloch Sand & Gravel, and Glen Gravel & Transit Mix.  The secondary industry is business and community services with the majority of main street businesses fitting into this category. The hamlet has been able to sustain many service orientated businesses including the Alberta Rose Café, Lundbreck Hotel, Lundbreck Furniture, Lundbreck Tire & Lube and O’Bies General Mercantile. 

Hidden from the highway, local businesses rely solely on local residents for sales and profits.  Lundbreck’s main street, the central business district, is covered with vacant lots, and elderly two-storey establishments. Lundbreck Pizza and the Lundbreck Liquor Store welcome travelers into Lundbreck, with the slogan “Oldest in the West” spread across the building façade. Luckily, the hamlet services surrounding communities as the district school, with students being bussed in from villages like Cowley.

Local Businesses as of June 2003:

Resources

Business data sources include: Alberta Business-to-Business Directory, Albertafirst.com, WorldWeb Travel Guide (Discover Alberta), Google Search, Albertadirectory.com, Albertaswfirst.com, Crowsnest-highway.ca, and Superpages Telephone Directory

Wilson, D.M.  (2003).  “Lundbreck Falls”. Crowsnest Highway: South Western Canada’s Information Resource website.  Retrieved on June 16, 2003 from www.crowsnest-highway.ca.