Historic Renovation
Coleman Story
A re-roof and renovation project in Coleman, Alberta, uncovering the story of a historic log cabin with ties to Prohibition-era smuggling and a hidden tunnel beneath the property.
So I had a re-roof and some interior renovations to do in Coleman, Alberta. The house, more of a small cabin, was in the old part of town, right by the railroad tracks. The trains were never late and always consistent.
The cabin actually was a dovetail chinker, so I was automatically drawn to it. I wanted to rip all the old siding off to expose the original timber, but that wasn’t in the client’s budget.
Anyway, the story was that the original owner was an Italian concrete tradesman who also had a pastime of brewing spirits and wine. I’m not sure of the timelines, but supposedly it was during the time of Prohibition in the United States.
During this era, there was apparently a pipeline of gangsters — Al Capone and his colleagues, I suppose, did have occasion to come up this way.
So this Italian homeowner had dug a tunnel under the roadway all the way to the neighbour’s house and lined it with concrete, obviously, so that during the production of illegal spirits, he had an escape route from the law.
The tunnel was only discovered decades later when the town was excavating the street and uncovered the passageway.
To this day, the beginning of that tunnel still exists in the little cabin, now blocked off.
The Tunnel Beneath Coleman
Some homes hold more than structure.
Some hold secrets.
This project took place in Coleman, Alberta in the old part of town, where the railway still runs close enough that you feel every passing train. Always on time. Always present.
The building itself was modest, more cabin than housel but it immediately stood out.
A dovetail log structure, chinked and weathered, built with a level of craftsmanship you don’t often see anymore.
I was drawn to it right away.
The scope of work was straightforward: a re-roof and interior renovations.
I would have loved to strip back the siding and expose the original logs — bring the structure back to what it once was — but that wasn’t in the budget.
Still, the real story wasn’t in what we could see.
It was in what had been hidden.
The original owner was an Italian concrete tradesman.
Skilled. Resourceful. And, as it turns out, entrepreneurial in ways that reflected the times.
During the Prohibition era in the United States, there were stories, not all confirmed, but persistent of movement, trade, and opportunity crossing the border. Names like Al Capone floated through local history.
According to those stories, this cabin played a role.
Beneath the property, the owner had constructed a tunnel.
Poured in concrete. Carefully built.
Running under the roadway to a neighbouring house.
An escape route.
Whether for moving product or avoiding attention, no one can say for certain anymore.
But the tunnel remained undiscovered for decades.
Until one day, during municipal excavation, the town uncovered it.
Today, the entrance still exists inside the cabin.
Sealed off. Quiet. But undeniably there.
Not every structure gives up its story easily.
Some leave it buried, just beneath your feet.
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