“Thank you to all of the miners who have helped to power our schools, hospitals, and electrical grid, drive our economy, and heat our homes and businesses over the centuries,” said Rep. Blaine Wilhour. “As a farmer, I understand the value of the land and soil and appreciate all that you do to harvest the minerals and resources from underground to make our world a better place.”
Marquette and Joliet discovered coal in Illinois in 1673 and early settlers mined numerous outcroppings of coal for local use. These earlier mines, often called “dogholes” were shallow, horizontal tunnels driven into generally thin coal seams dug by hand with picks and shovels, and miners used lumber to prop up the roof.
With the onset of industrialization in the mid-1800’s the demand for coal began to dramatically increase. and large-scale mines were opened with shafts or slopes to access the coal.
The growth of railroads in Illinois during the Civil War led to the development of large shipping mines. By 1870, as coal companies set up operations throughout the state, towns were established to support them. Place names throughout Illinois like Coal City, Carbondale, Diamond, Carbon Hill, Carbon Cliff, Glen Carbon, are obvious nods to the town’s original purpose. Others like Freeman Spur and South Wilmington were named after the coal companies’ owners.
The number of active coal mines in Illinois has declined from over 1,300 in 1935 to about 20 today. Coal has been mined in 76 of the 102 counties in Illinois, and more than 7,400 coal mines have operated since commercial mining began. Even today, Illinois still has the largest reserve of recoverable bituminous thermal coal (used in power plants) east of the Mississippi.
Illinois also produces industrial sand, gravel, peat, tripoli, clay, crushed stones, gemstones, and portland cement. Tripoli for example has been mined in Illinois for over 80 years and is a microcrystalline silica that is used in polishing, buffing, and as a filler and extender in plastics, rubber, and paints. Illinois produces 70% of the tripoli in the United States.
Learn more about the history of coal mining in Illinois here. You can learn more about your county’s coal mines here.