Chatham Quadrangle

MINING IN THE CHATHAM QUADRANGLE

Mining began in this quadrangle in 1885 with the sinking of a shaft for the mine at Chatham. The first production was 3,139 tons in 1886 and the property was mined until 1907 when it was abandoned. Subsequently, Peabody mining operations, with shafts in the Springfield area, mined into the quadrangle, as did the Panther Creek Mine from the Divernon area to the south.

Both the Springfield and the Herrin coal seams were mined in this quadrangle. The mines in the northern part of the quadrangle operated in the Springfield Coal, where it is approximately 250 feet deep and averages 5 feet 10 inches in thickness. Many mines in the Springfield Coal, in this part of the state, have encountered numerous clay dikes. The mines at Chatham and in the southern part of the quadrangle mined the Herrin, which averages 7 feet in thickness at a depth of 240 to 270 feet.