John and Robert Rutherford fonds

John Rutherford was manager of the Albion Mines in Pictou County, and Inspector of Mines for the province on Nova Scotia in the 1860s. He was replaced by Henry Skeffington Poole, so he could become General Manager and Mining Engineer for the General Mining Association in 1872. He dealt with Albion Mines, Blight Area, Caledonia Coal Mines, and especially, the Style Mining Area. He became a shareholder of this property as well as sole owner of an adjacent property referred to as “John Rutherford”. These properties were also called “Cumberland Coal Areas”. From the late 1890s through to after his death in the 1920s, Rutherford sold options to various buyers on the Styles Mining Company, but his true desire was to sell all of the land to a worthy buyer.

Robert Rutherford, John’s only surviving son (George Rutherford had died in 1903), was left in charge of his estate after John's death in 1913. He also pursued the sale of the Cumberland Coal Areas long after his father’s passing. With the help of other family members and surviving shareholders, Robert followed leads for a sale of the property. Up until 1932, where the textual records leave off, there is still a rental agreement for the properties.