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The Killer Coal Mines Of Springhill

Coal mines at Springhill have claimed 239 lives in three separate disasters. The first and worst was in 1891, when accumulated coal dust exploded, killing 125 men and severely injuring dozens more.

This tragedy was unprecedented in Canadian mining history and contributions to the Miners' Relief Fund were received from around the British Empire including from Queen Elizabeth.

In 1956, 39 miners died after runaway cars loaded with coal dust derailed and hit a power line which caused an arc that exploded suspended coal dust.

The explosion levelled the bankhead on the surface. Heroic fellow miners entered the mine immediately without breathing equipment and rescued 88 of their colleagues.

Two years later in 1958, an underground seismic event called a 'bump' caused the collapse of surrounding bedrock, bringing down the roofs of tunnels and chambers. Of the 174 men working at the time, 100 were rescued and 74 died.

This was the first major story in Canada to be covered by live CBC TV broadcasts, which made a deep impact on the general public.

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Anne Murray

Likely the Maritime's most acclaimed female singer She studied piano for six years and from the age of 15 to 18 took voice lessons, but in 1965, at the age of 20, she failed to win a spot on CBC-TV's Singalong Jubilee.

However, the following year she got a callback to sing in the chorus from show producer Bill Langstroth, whom she married nine years later.

Anne Murray was born in Springhill in 1945 and since her solo recording debut with Snowbird, released in 1969, she's done it all...starting the following year, being the first Canadian woman to have a gold record in the US (for Snowbird).

The mother of two won her first Grammy award in 1974, for Best Female Country Vocal Performance, and has won three more since.

She has three American Music Awards, three Country Music Association Awards and to date, 31 Juno Awards. She's in the Juno Hall of Fame, the Canadian Music Hall of Fame and the Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame and has many other awards and special recognitions, including Companion of Canada and Order of Nova Scotia.

She has likely earned more accolades and awards than any other Canadian female singer in history. Those awards, photographs, memorabilia and audio-visual displays of her life and career are on display at the Anne Murray Centre in Springhill.
The non-profit centre opened in 1989. All revenue generated is used to provide employment for local people and maintenance of the centre.

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Springhill Miners' Museum

at 145 Black River Rd. Springhill allows the visitor to tour a coal mine. Artifacts recall the disasters of 1891, 1916, 1956 and 1958, which killed a total of 239 miners. Gift shop.

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Bill O'Donnell

Harness racing's "Magic man" They called him "Magic man" because the horses driven by Bill O'Donnell (1948-) were so fast and the purses he won were so great that it seemed as though he was charmed.

Between 1970-97 the Springhill native had more than 5,000 victories, 200 major stakes titles and had $97 million in purses.

His best day was in August of 1984,when he set a world record in the morning at Springfield, Illinois ,and in the afternoon won the Woodrow Wilson in New Jersey with a purse of $2.16 million, then the richest payout in harness racing history.

In addition to racing, O'Donnell trained 94 winners. Most of his racing career was in the US but in 2001 he returned to Canada and settled near Acton, ON.