Pushing a barge past Bitumount
Arriving at Bitumount by plane
Canadian Pacific Airlines
  • Karl Clark at work on his prototype separation plant, 1929, Source: Glenbow Archives, ND-3-4596a

    Karl Clark begins his long career investigating Alberta’s oil sands.

    Karl Clark at work on his prototype separation plant, 1929
    Source: Glenbow Archives, ND-3-4596a

  • Robert Fitzsimmons at Bitumount, ca. 1920s, Source: Provincial Archives of Alberta, A3358

    Robert Cosmas Fitzsimmons visits the Athabasca River and purchases an oil lease.

    Robert Fitzsimmons at Bitumount, ca. 1920s
    Source: Provincial Archives of Alberta, A3358

  • Oil sands separation plant at Dunvegan Yards, Edmonton, 1925, Source: Provincial Archives of Alberta, A3526

    Karl Clark and Sidney Blair build prototype hot water separation plants.

    Oil sands separation plant at Dunvegan Yards, Edmonton, 1925
    Source: Provincial Archives of Alberta, A3526

  • Prospectus for the International Bitumen Company, n.d., Source: Provincial Archives of Alberta, PR1971.0356.544a,b.ProspectusOf.IBC.1

    International Bitumen Company Ltd. is incorporated.

    Prospectus for the International Bitumen Company Ltd., n.d.
    Source: Provincial Archives of Alberta, PR1971.0356.544a,b.ProspectusOf.IBC.1

  • Oil sands separation plant on the Clearwater River, 1930, Source: Provincial Archives of Alberta, A3536

    Karl Clark’s hot water separation plant moves to the Clearwater River, near Fort McMurray.

    Oil sands separation plant on the Clearwater River, 1930
    Source: Provincial Archives of Alberta, A3536

  • Diagram of the process patented by Clark in 1929, Source: Canadian Intellectual Property Office, Patent 289058

    Karl Clark is issued Patent 289058 for “Bituminuous [sic] Sand Processing”.

    Diagram of the process patented by Clark in 1929
    Source: Canadian Intellectual Property Office, Patent 289058

  • Fitzsimmons' separation plant, Bitumount, ca. 1930, Source: Provincial Archives of Alberta, A3383

    Robert Fitzsimmons builds his first separation plant at Bitumount.

    Fitzsimmons’s separation plant, Bitumount, ca. 1930
    Source: Provincial Archives of Alberta, A3383

  • New plant at Bitumount, n.d., Source: Provincial Archives of Alberta, A3378

    Robert Fitzsimmons builds a new plant designed to produce 200 barrels of oil per day, but it runs for only a short while.

    New plant at Bitumount, n.d.
    Source: Provincial Archives of Alberta, A3378

  • Diagram of Fitzsimmons' patented separation process, 1932, Source: Canadian Intellectual Property Office, Patent 326747

    Robert Fitzsimmons is issued Patent 326747 for a “Process and Apparatus for Recovering Bitumen.”

    Diagram of Fitzsimmons’s patented separation process, 1932
    Source: Canadian Intellectual Property Office, Patent 326747

  • The International Bitumen Company plant, Bitumount, ca. 1937, Source: Provincial Archives of Alberta, PAA A3375

    Robert Fitzsimmons builds a refinery at Bitumount.

    The International Bitumen Company Ltd. plant, Bitumount, ca. 1937
    Source: Provincial Archives of Alberta, PAA A3375

  • Fitzsimmons (left) shows Champion the oil sands at Bitumount, n.d., Source: University of Alberta Archives, 83-160-113

    Montreal financier Lloyd R. Champion buys controlling interest in International Bitumen Company Ltd. and changes name to Oil Sands Ltd.

    Fitzsimmons (left) shows Champion the oil sands at Bitumount, n.d.
    Source: University of Alberta Archives, 83-160-113

  • Ernest Manning in 1943, Source: Provincial Archives of Alberta, A483

    Ernest Manning, Premier of Alberta, announces a loan of $250,000 to Oil Sands Ltd. to build a prototype oil sands separation plant at Bitumount.

    Ernest Manning in 1943
    Source: Provincial Archives of Alberta, A483

  • Alberta Government Oil Sands Project, Bitumount, 1952, Source: University of Alberta Archives, 91-137-127

    Agreement with Oil Sands Ltd. is cancelled. The Bitumount project becomes known as the Alberta Government Oil Sands Project.

    Alberta Government Oil Sands Project, Bitumount, 1952
    Source: University of Alberta Archives, 91-137-127

  • Diagram of process patented by Clark in 1948, Source: Canadian Intellectual Property Office, Patent 448231

    Karl Clark is issued Patent 448231 for “Extracting Oil from Bituminous Sand.”

    Diagram of process patented by Clark in 1948
    Source: Canadian Intellectual Property Office, Patent 448231

  • Karl Clark at the completed Bitumount plant, n.d., Source: Provincial Archives of Alberta, PA410.3

    Alberta Government Oil Sands Project plant at Bitumount is completed.

    Karl Clark at the completed Bitumount plant, n.d.
    Source: Provincial Archives of Alberta, PA410.3

  • Cover of Blair's Report on the Alberta Bituminous Sands, 1950, Source: Provincial Archives of Alberta, PR1971.0345.box24.503

    Blair Report indicates that developing the oils sands could be profitable.

    Cover of Sidney Blair’s Report on the Alberta Bituminous Sands, 1950
    Source: Provincial Archives of Alberta, PR1971.0345.box24.503

  • Poster on the University of Alberta Campus, 1951, Source: University of Alberta Archives, 91-137-122

    Over one hundred delegates attend the Athabasca Oil Sands Conference at the University of Alberta.

    Poster on the University of Alberta Campus, 1951
    Source: University of Alberta Archives, 91-137-122

  • Bitumount, ca. 1949-1950, Source: Glenbow Archives, pa-1599-451-2

    Government of Alberta puts the Bitumount plant and 5,784 acres up for sale, but does not receive any adequate bids. The plant remains non-operational.

    Bitumount, ca. 1949-1950
    Source: Glenbow Archives, pa-1599-451-2

  • Diagram of Fitzsimmons’ patented 1953 separation process, Source: Canadian Intellectual Property Office, Patent 493081

    Robert Fitzsimmons is issued Patent 493081 for a “Process for Recovering Bitumen from Tar Sands.”

    Diagram of Fitzsimmons’s patented 1953 separation process
    Source: Canadian Intellectual Property Office, Patent 493081

  • The Bitumount site became overgrown in the years following its abandonment. Source: Historic Resources Management, DSC_1720

    Bitumount plant is sold, but no significant development occurs and it is finally abandoned in 1958.

    The Bitumount site became overgrown in the years following its abandonment.
    Source: Historic Resources Management, DSC_1720

  • Sign at the Bitumount site, 1980s, Source: Historic Resources Management, DSC_5896

    Bitumount is designated a Provincial Historic Resource.

    Sign at the Bitumount site, 1980s
    Source: Historic Resources Management, DSC_5896

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Access

Today it is possible to drive from Fort McMurray in less than an hour, but until relatively recently there were no roads to Bitumount. Historically, the river was the main transportation artery in the region. A wide variety of boats could be found on the river. Travel overland was not usually a practical option, because of the difficult terrain, but in winter it was possible for vehicles to use the frozen Athabasca River like a road.

By the 1930s, air travel allowed many ground-level obstacles to be bypassed. The river was vital as a landing place, both summer and winter. Eventually, a landing strip was built at Bitumount, allowing year-round access.

In this Section

By River

The Athabasca River provided the best option for moving people and freight in and out of Bitumount.

By Land

By the early 1920s, there was train service north from Edmonton on the Alberta and Great Waterways Railway.

By Air

Access to Bitumount by air was possible both summer and winter, as early as the 1930s.

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