INDIANA MINES
Enos Coal Mining Co. - Pike County, Indiana
Bituminous coal was first reported in Indiana along the Wabash River in 1736. In 1804 coal was first reported in land surveys and its locations marked on maps. By 1832 coal was first being advertised for sale in many southern Indiana newspapers. The first coal company to be officially incorporated and granted a charter by the State of Indiana was the American Cannel Coal Company of Cannelton in Perry County, in 1837.
By 1840, coal was being shipped in small quantities by flat boat from locations along the White, Wabash and Ohio Rivers. Indiana was producing almost 9,700 tons of coal per year, primarily from Perry and Warrick Counties. Small scale surface mining along outcropping seams was done at first by pick and shovel and later by horse and scraper. The first underground mine shaft in Indiana was developed in 1850 at Newburgh, Indiana. By 1852 block coal had been discovered in Clay County and both shaft and slope mines became common. From 1840, when production was almost 9,700 tons, to 1897, coal production increased rapidly and by 1918 at the close of World Wa I, production in Indiana had reached over 30,000,000 tons per year. With the advent of steam powered equipment, surface mining began on a large scale and has steadily increased ever since.
Before 1850 coal was used principally as fuel for steamboats on the Ohio River and locally for heating and as blacksmith's coal. The construction of railroads in Indiana, which began in the 1850's, opened Indiana coalfields to urban and industrial users throughout Indiana and the Chicago region. The railroads themselves became major consumers of coal. Before the 1920's almost all coal was mined underground. This production peaked at 29 million tons in 1918. Surface mining became important after the 1920's; today about 98 percent of Indiana coal comes from surface mines. A total of 900 million tons has been mined underground, and 700 million tons has been mined at the surface.
One of the worst disasters in Indiana mining history occurred at the City Coal Mine, a mile east of Sullivan, on February 21, 1925. Only 4 of 55 men trappped in the mine by a gas explosion were rescued. Impeded by the deadly after-damp, rescue workers worked for 2 days, before the 51 bodies were removed to the surface.
Northwest Mine - Jasonville, IN
Coal Miner - Linton, IN
Warren Coal Co. - Terre Haute, IN
Coal Mine - Terre Haute, IN
Coal mine - Brazil, IN
Coal miners - Jasonville, IN
Little Betty Mine - Greene County, IN
Unidentified coal mine - Brazil, Clay Co., IN
Queen Mine - Jasonville, Green County, IN
Tecumseh Coal Corp. Open Pit - Oakland City, IN
Princeton Mining Co.'s Kings Station Mine - Princeton, IN
Gregorn Coal Mine - Shelburn, IN
River Island Coal Co. - Elnora, IN
Crown Hill Mine - Clinton, IN
Unknown coal mine - Clinton, IN
Brazil Block Coal Co. - Vermillion Co., IN
Brazil Block Coal Co. - Vermillion Co., IN
Enoco Coal Mine - Bruceville, IN
Crown Hill Mine No. 3 - Clinton, IN
American Coal Mining Co. - Bicknell, IN
Freeman Coal Co. - Bicknell, IN
American Mine - Bicknell, IN
Miami Mine No. 9 - Clinton, IN
