Coal mining has a deep history in Illinois. It is said the state was the first place coal was discovered when an outcropping was found along the Illinois River in 1673. However it wasn’t until the 1800s that settlers mined the coal for blacksmithing and other uses.

In 1848 the first underground mining operation was established in Belleville, Ill. After the Civil War, railways helped spread the mining industry when transportation allowed shipping options. Coal mining has occurred in 76 counties in Illinois and more than 7,400 coal mines have operated according to an Illinois State Geological Report.

Montgomery County located in Central Illinois has had its share of mining history. At the turn of the century a report in Mining and Engineering World stated the Superior Coal Mine in Gillespie was reported to be ranked tenth in coal producing states.

Located in Gillespie is the Illinois Coal Museum, which is located on historic Route 66. The museum includes production stories, worker history, and unexpected violence that would never be guessed by viewing the bucolic corn and soybean fields of the area today.

In nearby Virden, Ill., the Battle of Virden took place in 1898 when strike breakers came into town on a train on Oct. 12. After strikers surrounded the train, detectives on board the train armed with Winchester rifles shot into the crowd. The result was 12 dead and several wounded. This battle was memorialized by sculptor David Seagraves in his bronze mural that sits on the Virden square. The famous activist Mother Jones (Mary Harris Jones) is laid to rest a little further down the road in Mt Olive, Ill., in the Miner’s Cemetery, the only cemetery in Illinois owned by a Union. She wanted to be buried by the martyrs of the Virden Massacre. During her later years, she fought for fairer labor laws, especially for stopping the labor of children in the mines. There is a nice display in the museum covering her story. She was once deemed, “The World’s most dangerous woman.” There is also a Mother Jones museum in Mt. Olive.

Outside of the museum are some impressive paintings, one is of a miner with the wording, “Home of the Progressive Miners of America, founded 1 Sept. 1932.” Once inside the museum there is also some local history. One wall includes local church history and information about local industry. Bottles of soda from the Hubert bottle company are included along with Muf-O-Dor, which was invented by Gillespie school teachers Michael Verticchio and John Orler. The product was sprinkled on vomit and reduced the odor.

During Prohibition a place called Mine #5 was set up to look like a coal mine, but was instead turning out 2,000 gallons of whiskey a day.

Upon entering the museum there is the story of coal and how it forms. Visitors can view a bucket of coal and see exactly what coal looks like. There is a lovely collection of coal lanterns and several safety devices that measured the oxygen in the air. There is a fake canary in a cage, but it indicates a very real history. The information beside it states, “The canary was used to detect bad air (carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide) in the mines. By their behavior they warned the miner about the ventilation problems. The canary has only a very small amount of blood in its body; this tiny bloodstream therefore quickly becomes saturated by very low concentrations of deadly gases.”

Another collection of instruments include anemometers which measure air flow. Safety is and was an important aspect of mining. First aid materials are on display as well as information about mining accidents that provide a sad aspect about what has happened in a few past instances when accidents occurred in this dangerous occupation. Medals from mine rescue contests show how important it was to be prepared.

There is a section that shares information about coal mining careers. Coal mining work has dropped. The Illinois Department of Natural Resources June 2016 report shows that, “Illinois employment has dropped even when production has risen, since modern technology requires fewer workers to extract coal. There were 4,100 people employed in coal mining in Illinois at the beginning of 2015…”

Coal mining equipment as well as items like lunch buckets, hard hats and more make this museum a must see if interested in the fascinating coal history. For more information visit the website at www.gillespiecoalmuseum.org.