Astoria Quadrangle

Mining in the Astoria Quadrangle

The earliest known mining in the Astoria Quadrangle was northwest of the town of Astoria, circa 1859 (mine index 7675). Mining was also shown on the 1871 atlas, near the northeastern part of the quadrangle.

The Springfield Coal is present in the Astoria Quadrangle as isolated pods near Astoria and in the northeastern part of the quadrangle, where the coal was surface-mined by Key No. 1 Mine (mine index 2089). The Springfield Coal was noted for having frequent large clay dikes, up to 4 feet wide, that would run from the floor to the ceiling. In the top third of the seam, a sooty, crumbly cannel coal was common, and that portion of the seam was 2 to 4 inches thick. The black shale roof had large pyritic concretions.

The Colchester Coal was mined in other portions of the Astoria Quadrangle, often via drift entries in ravines where the coal cropped out. Other minor coals were locally thick enough to mine, such as the Kerton Creek Coal, Summum (later known as Houchin Creek), and Cardiff Coal. In most cases, not enough evidence is available to say for certain which coal was mined, and these were included in the “other coals” layer

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Coal Mines In Illinois Astoria Quadrangle

Mines that Appear on the Astoria Quadrangle

Unlocated Mines

Fulton County

Schuyler County

Mason County