 British mining engineer Thomas Lancaster and British businessman Col. Horace Mayhew, who owned the company, intended to develop the coal seam at Loon's Lake.The pair raised millions of dollars, mostly from English investors, and construction on the town was started, with streets laid out and a number of large official buildings constructed, including the Office Building, the Assistant Manager's House, the Broughton Arms Hotel and Crown Hotel.Remains of these substantial buildings can still be seen today, the scale of which giving an impression of the town's lofty ambitions.