Avon Quadrangle
Mining in the Avon Quadrangle
The earliest known mining in the Avon Quadrangle was in 18-T8N-R1E in Fulton County, near mine index 4348, northwest of the town of Avon. A cannel coal was distilled for oil by D. H. Spunver in 1859. Ten retorts were in operation until the discovery of oil in Pennsylvania put a stop to production by this method, as it was said that a ton of coal was required to distill 30 gallons of oil. When oil could be produced so much more cheaply, there was little incentive to continue production by this method.
The Rock Island and Colchester Coals were mined. Both were thin, but over most of the area, one seam or the other was shallow and available to drift mine or to access with a shallow slope along the hillsides adjacent to the streams.
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Coal Mines In Illinois Avon Quadrangle