Baldwin Quadrangle

Mining in the Baldwin Quadrangle

The Herrin Coal was both surface and underground mined in the Baldwin Quadrangle. The coal was generally 6 feet thick or more. The roof material varied from black shale to gray shale to limestone. The Fellers Mine (mine index 3189) is the oldest known mine that operated in the southeastern corner of the Baldwin Quadrangle, but several mines operated near the town of Marissa in the northeast corner before 1900. In recent years, the Peabody Coal Company operated a large surface mine from 1976 to 1992, the River King Pit No. 6 Mine (mine index 934), and a large underground mine south of Marissa, the Baldwin Mine (mine index 952), from 1972 to 1993. Operating both at the same time, production from the surface mine could be shipped from the surface facilities of the underground mine.