The Tunnels of Moose Jaw are filled with Half-Truths and Lies
Moose Jaw is a small city in south-central Saskatchewan. It’s 71 km west of Regina. Throughout Saskatchewan, Moose Jaw is known as a retirement and tourist city, and is more or less a central hub for farms and small rural communities surrounding the area. For as long as I can remember, Moose Jaw has been proud to call itself the Tourist Mecca of Saskatchewan. Some residents have noted that this is similar to being the skinniest kid at a fat camp. Whatever your opinion is, hundreds of thousands of tourists visit every year.
The most popular tourist attractions in Moose Jaw are the Temple Gardens Mineral Spa, The Western Development Museum, Casino Moose Jaw, Murals of Moose Jaw, and the Tunnels of Moose Jaw, which sort of plays the victim and the perpetrator in this trial. I’m not discrediting Moose Jaw’s interesting past, however I do feel people have the right to know about certain half-truths the Tunnels of Moose Jaw use to lure in curious tourists.
A little history of the Moose Jaw tunnels
In the early 1900’s the majority of the large buildings in Moose Jaw were being heated by steam. Engineers who looked after this heating system in the basements decided to create a network of tunnels linking the buildings together, so they can easily move themselves and their equipment from building to building without freezing in them gosh darn cold prairie winters.
During this time, many Chinese immigrants had begun to arrive in Moose Jaw to work for very low wages. In order to survive off their poor wages, the immigrants adopted the tunnel system as living quarters and workplaces which were cheap to run, and hidden from the occasional hostile populace.
What hostile populace? Well for a brief period Moose Jaw was the centre of the Ku Klux Klan in Saskatchewan. The first KKK rally being held on June 7, 1927, with 400+ members attending. The last rally was held on October 26, 1927, shortly after organizer Hugh Emmons was arrested. At the time, bigotry was in.
Once prohibition started, Moose Jaw became the capitol for the distribution of bootleg liquor both in Canada and in the US of A. The Soo Line Railroad which goes to Chicago was the vessel for the majority of the international distribution of the booze. With all this illegal activity going on, Moose Jaw earned the nickname “Little Chicago”. More and more illegal enterprises began popping up within the network of tunnels. Speakeasies, casinos, and brothels all at one point found their own area to sell their services. When prohibition was ended, the tunnels fell into disuse, until over time the tunnels were nearly forgotten. Many were filled in or blocked off by new construction.
Creative Commons Attribution daryl_mitchell
Creative Commons Attribution daryl_mitchell
A Tourist Attraction Is Created
Decades later an elaborate tourist attraction was created in what remains of the tunnels using live actors and animatronics to give tourists a look into the past of this era of “Little Chicago”. They call the attraction The Tunnels of Moose Jaw. The story they tell however, is in fact based on a bit of a lie that leaves my mouth tasting a little sour.
The Tunnels of Moose Jaw claim that the infamous 1920’s original gangster ‘Al Capone’ hung out in Moose Jaw during these sketchy times. I’ve been on the tour a couple times as a kid, once on an elementary school trip, and I remember somewhere along the line you get to enter the “supposed” office of Al Capone, where he held secret meetings with associates. As a child I took this for fact, and thought, “Woah, Moose Jaw’s badass.” Which it is and all, but this tourist attraction is selling a lie. There is no proof whatsoever that Al Capone ever visited Moose Jaw. His name has never turned up in old hotel registries, and not a single person has brought out their old photo album to show the crime boss hanging out anywhere in Moose Jaw. If you dig deep enough the only thing you’ll find is six personal accounts of people who claim to have met the mobster Al Capone in Moose Jaw.
If personal accounts from people were fact, then Extra Terrestrials, Angels, Unicorns, Leprechauns, Santa Claus, Gnomes, Trolls, and Fairies would all be real. I think what really gets my goat the most about this obvious stretch of a few personal accounts, is that the Tunnels of Moose Jaw have these witness accounts on their website under ‘History‘, and the fact that they bring School Groups into the tunnels to learn. Seems to me that they’re selling a piece of false-history. Not cool guys. I feel like this place is serving an empty plate for hungry tourists, and likely making a killing in the mean-time. According to Tunnels of Moose Jaw, they receive over 100 000 visitors per year. I’m no math wiz, but at $14.00 a pop, they can’t be hurting.
The Real Gangsters of Moose Jaw
It’s not like Moose Jaw doesn’t have it’s fair share of memorable proven historical figures to use. Take Annie Hobert for example, she was the owner of the Railway Restaurant in the 1890’s and operated 24 hours a day to accommodate passengers of the Canadian Pacific railway. During this time hard liquor was banned in Moose Jaw, which at the time was part of the North West Territories. So Annie begins making regular round trips on the train to Winnipeg where she used her long skirts and petticoats to hide her custom fitted rubber bags filled with moonshine, which she brought back for her thirsty patrons.
Annie Hobert began making a killing, and soon began smuggling more and more. She began to dress up kegs of whiskey to pass as sleeping babies, then moved on to masking crates of alcohol to resemble plain old commodities, such as flour or beans. Everything was going according to plan for a while. That is until a crate took a spill and she was busted. She paid her fine and retired in Manitoba.
Mobsters and gangsters were likely in Moose Jaw at one point or another, however if Godfather taught me anything, it’s that The Boss Hog himself would not risk being caught up in some petty crimes just to visit “Little Chicago”. That’s what henchmen are for. Duh!
Moose Jaw is an interesting town, it has some quaint shops, and old buildings, some cool museums, and is a good place to get a dose of the history of the prairies. I just feel that this stretched truth has gotten out of control. Go to Moose Jaw, and heck, check out the Tunnels for yourself, they are neat and entertaining, just know that what you’re seeing is a scripted theatrical performance based on fictional events.
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My name is Corbin. I'm a 20-something guy from the flatlands of Canada. I'm currently a part time travel writer, web designer, and musician. I started this site in the hopes of learning a little more about where I come from. Somewhere along the way it decided to evolve into an independent travel guide for other backpackers interested in traveling Canada on a budget. Join me for the ride, and if you happen to be backpacking across Canada, feel free to contact me to be part of this Canada travel guide.
Nice post. I have family in Moose Jaw, but I’ve only been there once and I was too little to remember anything. I’m a bit bothered by the idea of passing off fictionalized history as accurate. I guess it’d be different if they said “Some believe Al Capone was here, but no one really knows for sure.” At least then it’s only speculating, and still keeping some mystery and excitement.
I don’t know if you’ve read the book “Beauty Tips From Moose Jaw” by Will Ferguson. It’s a great Canadian read and quite funny. The author basically says the same thing, that The Tunnels are entertaining but not really accurate. And he also asserts that the real truth (like the story of Annie Hobert) is just as interesting as the made up stuff. It sort of makes me wonder if there are other historical sites, that have stretched the truth out a bit too much as well.
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@Alouise – I agree, it wouldn’t bother me so much if they said there’s a chance that Capone was there. But to dedicate an entire tour for a “hunch” and then pass it off as truth just seems wrong.
Yep, I read Beauty Tips from Moose Jaw, I loved it! I was trying to figure out when I first heard about this Capone thing not being entirely true, and you just reminded me that this is where the idea spawned from. Thanks for reminding me! I read that back while I was in high-school so I just barely remember it. Scary that if they can get away with it there, who’s to say this kind of thing isn’t happening all over the place at many popular tourist destinations.
you can say he wasn’t here all you want. That is as false as saying he was here. How does anyone really know for sure… he wasn’t going to go to Moose Jaw with a big sign saying hey everyone here I am.
It would have been very discrete and likely no one would know.
The fact that he was the one bootlegging his liguor up here and as you stated Moose Jaw became the hub for bootlegging it stands to reason he would have at least wanted to visit his operation at some point. I know if I was relying on someone to sell my booze I would want to know who he was and what he had planned before I went into that kind of business with him.
Wow, I did not know ANY of this stuff. Super interesting.
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Totally! Moose Jaw’s all sorts of hood. It’s like Corner Gas with Guns…and interesting stories. Zing. lol jk, Corner Gas is alright.
There’s a whole series of Kids books called The Tunnels of Moose Jaw I believe. I have to admit, it’s an interesting town. Probably more interesting to me than say Regina.
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I think I have to agree with you. Regina’s got it’s quirks and what not, but Moose Jaw seems to have a bit more of a rich past. However, if I had to choose between living in Moose Jaw or Regina, Regina wins by a landslide.
why?
we are relocating from Alberta. It’s a toss up between Regina and moose Jaw. I’ve been leaning to Moose Jaw to live more small town-ish, raise the kids, you know, the average story. Just looking to hear an opinion.
oh and of course, thanks for the tid bit info to get folks thinking! Well written for sure.
The worlds biggest bootlegger dealing moonshine in Moose Jaw and he would have come to check things out ever.
I realize you send in the henchman but you still have to take care of business.
I am not saying he was here or not but to say he wasn’t could be just as false as saying he was. So what exactly is that saying about your statements or publication on this matter?
The tours are great and meant to entertain. This is not taught in schools and is not passed off as fact. It isn’t like you are meeting his dear old Aunt who is saying he was here.
This is a unique and interesting city with lots of heritage. To suggest this as being a lie or half truth as you call it would also be just half the truth.
If there is some proof to the matter than show it.
The Chinese worked and did laundry underground and they have proof that they a head tax had to be paid for them to work above ground.
Why even bother with the KKK comments when discussing the tunnels or Capone. That made no sense to me at all. They have a couple of meetings over a few months and that makes us a hub for the KKK. Come on.
As you can tell I am kind of offended by this article as I think more thought and facts would be provided when deciding if someone is telling “half truths”.
maybe you should do a little more research into the matter rather than copy and paste things from wikipedia, what facts can you bring to the table? your arguement is based off of what wikipedia says, and they’re not always right. if you’re going to try to prove a point, atleast back it up with the facts. don’t base it off of one other website and a movie. just because you think he wouldn’t come to moose jaw doesn’t mean he wouldn’t. that’s just your own personal, close minded view.
Hey Shawn, David, any other fake names you made up (all originating from the same moose jaw ip 142.165.41.235…)
A) Although I respect your opinion(s…) I think you’re naive to believe that Capone had anything to do with Moose Jaw.
B) I mean no disrespect to Moose Jaw, it’s a great little town, but I think your civic pride is getting in the way here
C) You ask for proof that Capone was never there…yet if I wrote that Jesus Christ has never been to Moose Jaw (which is blatant common sense), I wouldn’t have to prove a thing. So screw your proof.
Thanks for reading, and taking the time to be more than one commenter to show their disgust with this post.
I am a 22 year old Saskatchewan resident myself and have always felt the same way about the “Little Chicago Tunnels.” It’s good to see that at least some people take the “history” presented there with a grain of salt.
Thanks brady, yea i hate to bash on the them, Moose Jaws got a cool vibe to it and everything, as do the tours. But yea, grains of salt most definitely are needed for the whole Al Capone part of the tour. The rest of the tour seems pretty fine, wholesome family fun and what have you. Thanks for commenting