Eldorado, Saskatchewan Explained

Official Name:Eldorado
Settlement Type:Ghost town
Pushpin Map:Saskatchewan
Pushpin Label Position:right
Pushpin Map Caption:Location of Eldorado
Coordinates:59.55°N -108.502°W
Subdivision Type:Country
Subdivision Name:Canada
Subdivision Type1:Province
Subdivision Name1:Saskatchewan
Subdivision Type2:Region
Subdivision Name2:Northern Saskatchewan
Subdivision Type3:Census division
Subdivision Name3:Division No. 18
Subdivision Type4:Rural Municipality
Established Title:Post office opened
Established Date:July 9, 1953
Established Title2:Post office closed
Established Date2:July 20, 1982
Timezone:CST
Postal Code Type:Postal code
Postal Code:S0H 2P0 & S0J 0T0
Area Code:306

Eldorado is a former mining community turned ghost town located on Beaverlodge Lake in northern Saskatchewan, Canada. Its original name was Beaverlodge. Eldorado and nearby Uranium City are along Saskatchewan Highway 962, an isolated stretch of highway.

History

After uranium was discovered in the Beaverlodge District in 1946, Eldorado Mining and Refining established Eldorado as a community to house its miners, their families, and related workers. By 1951, the community of Eldorado had a population of 184.

Eldorado Mining and Refining opened the Beaverlodge Mine in 1953. The Eldorado Company's major production came from the Fay-Ace-Verna mine shafts, mostly from uranium deposits located in the Archaen Tazin Group. The deposits are found within the footwall and hanging wall of the St. Louis fault.[1] [2]

Eldorado had a one-room school that taught students through to grade six, after which they were transported to Uranium City. The first post office was established in 1953 with John Edgar Hamlin as postmaster. The community grew to a population of 939 by 1956.

After the decline of Eldorado's population to 229 in 1981, the Beaverlodge Mine shut down in 1982.[3] The post office closed July 20, 1982, with May A. Grona as the last postmaster.[4]

Transportation

Eldorado had its own air service of DC-3s and DC-4s, which supplemented commercial air service by Pacific Western Airlines. Air was the accepted mode of travel to and from Eldorado and Uranium City.[5]

See also

Notes and References

  1. Book: Nash. J. Thomas. Geology and genesis of major world hardrock uranium deposits: An overview, USGS Open-File Report 81-166. 1981. US Government. 61–66.
  2. Book: Lang. A.H.. Record of Proceedings of Session 6B, Panel Discussion on Uranium and Thorium Occurrences, Peaceful Uses of Atomic Energy, Vol. 6, Geology of Uranium and Thorium. 1956. United Nations. New York. 646–647.
  3. Web site: Uranium Mining in Northern Saskatchewan . . 2011-02-22.
  4. Web site: Post Offices and Postmasters database . . 2011-02-22 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20111119142015/http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/databases/post-offices/ . 2011-11-19.
  5. Web site: Chapter 7. Uranium Mining in Northern Saskatchewan: A Public-Private Transition (Part 2) . . 2011-02-22 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20110609001639/http://www.idrc.ca/en/ev-28035-201-1-DO_TOPIC.html . 2011-06-09.