Mercoal's name was an acronym for the McLeod River Hard Coal Company, co-owned by Nick Gurvich, who opened the mine in 1920. In 1924 the mine was sold to Saunders Ridge Coal Company, Ltd.[1] During the 1950s, Mercoal attracted an influx of workers from other Coal Branch towns, after the closure of Mountain Park in 1950, and Cadomin in 1952. The Mercoal mine finally closed on July 17, 1959.
It is now a ghost town.