History of Coal Mining Monument

The History of Coal Mining Monument is a rough-faced stone cairn with a metal plaque, located adjacent to the former Minto Railway Station on Main Street in the Village of Minto.

The History of Coal Mining Monument is designated a Local Historic Place for its importance in highlighting the longstanding history of coal mining in the Minto region, as well as for its architectural design typical of the Federal Government’s heritage monuments of the era.

Erected in 1930 by the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada (HSMBC), the monument is typical of the inter-war era federal heritage monuments erected throughout Canada. Using the HSMBC’s standard relief sculpted design with bilingual text, the plaque text reads as follows: "FIRST EXPORT OF COAL Soon after the occupation of Acadie by the French, coal was discovered in this region. Before the middle of the 17th century it was being shipped from Grand Lake to Boston by water. This export trade in coal was the first to be developed on the entire Eastern Coast of North America.”

Source: Minto Village Office, Historic Places File, “History of Coal Mining Monument”

The character-defining elements that describe the History of Coal Mining Monument include:

- the two metre-high tapered design incorporating rough-faced cut sandstone topped with a smooth stone angled cap;

- the metal plaque attached to the front, using the HSMBC’s standard relief sculpted design of the 1930s with a gold-coloured frame, raised lettering on a burgundy background, and bilingual text.