St. David Quadrangle

Mining in the St. David Quadrangle

Surface mines were noted in the 1884 and 1885 Coal Report listings for Fulton County, but not in 1886 or 1887. The 1888, 1889 and 1890 Coal Reports did not hint at the type of mine, but no surface mines were tabulated in the 1891 to 1897 Coal Reports. It is a virtual certainty that surface mining continued after 1885 but was simply not reported. The number of companies and tons of production cannot be estimated. However, methods of surface mining in that time period were primitive, and considering the large surface mines that operated in and near the St. David Quadrangle in the 1940s through the 1960s, the acreage would have been insubstantial.

The 1893 Coal Report indicated ventilation was sometimes inadequate. The method of mining in these seams, generally less than 4 feet thick, was to remove the underclay from the haulage route to make the entry 5.5 feet tall. The air courses generally ran parallel to the haulage route, but the bottom would eventually heave "at least one foot of the original four", leaving an air way that was less than 20 square feet. This resulted in higher resistance to the air current and a small amount of ventilation supplied for the power expended. Heaving was noted in the Saline County No. 22 Mine (mine index 0031), and was likely present in most of the mines in the Springfield Coal.

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Coal Mines In Illinois St. David Quadrangle

Mines that Appear on the St. David Quadrangle

Unlocated Mines

Fulton County

Mason County