The early settlers of the southern part of La Salle county found coal in
abundance along the Vermillion river near where Streator now stands. This was a
very soft, but good quality coal. The coal cropped out on the banks of the river
and for many years the early settlers picked it out, loaded their wagons and
drove away with it. All it cost was the labor of getting it.
As the
country settled up, more coal was needed to supply them. Soon the supply that
could be had along the river banks became exhausted. Miners then came upon the
scene, drifts were started underground and mining began. In a few years the coal
was mined far back from the river and it became necessary to sink shafts so the
coal could be produced cheaper.
Those mines averaged about sixty feet in
depth, and the coal was hoisted to the surface by a horse hitched to a lever
which turned a large round post which stood upright and was fastened at both
ends. On the top end was a large drum on which was fastened the hoisting rope.
As the horse went around in a ring the rope was wound up, which hoisted the cage
and pulled up the coal. There were usually two cages; as one came up the other
went down. When the cage came up the horse turned around and went in the
opposite direction, which brought up the other cage. The coal was dumped into
the farmers' wagons and they hauled it away.
In early days much of this
coal was hauled to Wenona and loaded in cars on the Illinois Central railroad
and shipped north. For many years this was very profitable work for the farmers
in the winter time.
Owing to the small cost of sinking and operating
those mines, there were many of them, and for a time Streator was called "The
Pittsburgh of the West."
"I distinctly remember," my pioneer friend
said, "one day in the winter of 1858, while waiting my turn to be loaded, I went
down into the mine. I found the mine to be large and roomy. The ceiling was
about seven feet high. The rooms, as they are called, were about twenty feet in
width.
"The miners were at work in their rooms and were getting out the
coal in many different ways. The roof was held up with rows of wooden posts
called props.
"Some of the miners began on the top coal, while others
started on the bottom of the coal and worked upward. No matter how they worked,
they got lots of coal. The guide who was with me took me to many rooms where
miners were working. He told me the mine was drained into the Vermillion river
underground. After following the entry through which the water drained for ten
or fifteen rods, I asked him how far it was to the river? He told me it was
about one-half a mile to the river and I suggested that we turn back. In a short
while we reached the shaft, we got on the cage and in a little while were again
on top in the beautiful sunshine."
The farmers from the south and west
hauled coal from those mines, for a distance of forty miles or more. Although we
lived only about twelve miles from these mines, we often started as early as two
o'clock in the morning to go there to get loaded with coal, and sometimes would
not get loaded till evening.
For many years the demand for Streator coal
was very great. Then came the railroads and the foundation of the beautiful city
of Streator was laid. Coal mining was carried on a gigantic scale, with large
mines, thousands of miners, steam hoists, and up-to-date machinery. Many
millions of tons of this fine coal were mined and shipped out of Streator
yearly.
Extracted 08 Nov 2018 by Norma Hass from Stories of Pioneer Days in La Salle County, Illinois, by Grammar Grade Pupils, published in 1932, page 98.
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