Brookside was once a a thriving mining town but its coal driven economy crashed in the 1920’s forcing the local mining company to close its doors. The This town really believes in canoeing as a recreational sport even owning the Five Mile Creek Canoe and Company. Between 1910 and 1920, mining operations jumped around to several seams and the number of miners fluctuated between a low of 54 in 1910 and a high of over 600 in 1914.