Brussels Quadrangle
Mining in the Brussels Quadrangle
No mine maps were found for either the coal or the clay mines in the Brussels Quadrangle. All of the sources are rather general, and point locations have a higher degree uncertainty than the symbol generally indicates. Often field notes have accompanying field maps, which adds a level of confidence in the data. That was not the case with the Brussels data. Some field notes have handwritten corrections by later investigators. In the case of the best-known mine in this area, the Calhoun Mine (mine index 452) production was listed in the Coal Reports, and the mine was reported to be a drift mine. G. H. Cady, an accurate field geologist, took photographs of the clay pit, the processing plant, and the brick kiln, but this is one of the few instances where no field map is known to accompany the notes or photographs. The clay pit is undoubtedly a surface pit. This would indicate that the coal was mined in the highwall of the clay pit, in order for the Coal Report to list the coal mine as a drift entrance. It is unusual that Cady did not note that fact or photograph the mine entrance when he visited the area in 1916, just 4 years after the mine closed (1912). However, it is possible that the coal was mined a mile north (near mine index 7392), while most of the clay was mined at the location noted on the accompanying map.
What we do know for certain is that the coal mining took place between 1850 and 1912. Production was not high, and the coal was likely used locally.
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Coal Mines In Illinois Brussels Quadrangle