Michael J Leeb: Oil City, 1901

Oil City National Historic Site at Waterton Lakes National Park, adjacent to the Akamina Parkway

Oil City was surveyed in 1901 near the first producing oil well in Alberta, on the shores of Cameron Lake.  The townsite was never developed and was eventually abandoned – oil drilling in this area was not economically viable.  This is a remnant of a partial foundation for a hotel within the townsite, progressively, gradually re-colonised by the landscape.

Michael J Leeb is a poet, writer and visual artist in Blairmore, Alberta and a member of the Society for the Study of Architecture in Canada.