Williamsville Quadrangle

Mining in the Williamsville Quadrangle

Mining began in the Williamsville Quadrangle prior to 1882 with the Barclay Coal and Mining Company. In 1893, Williamsville Coal Company opened a mine about halfway between Sherman and Williamsville. Both of these mines had closed by the time the Howard Brothers opened their mine in 1926. The Howard Brothers Mine later became Wenneborg No. 2, and was the last mine operating in this quadrangle. Peabody Coal Company operated two mines in the Williamsville Quadrangle; No. 52 Mine, which consisted of an entry extending northward from the Springfield East Quadrangle, and No. 6 Mine, which began mining in this quadrangle in 1904.

Records of annual production were not officially kept until 1881 when the first Illinois Bureau of Labor Statistics Biennial Reports was published. Sangamon County ranked among the top four coal producers in the state until the 1930s, but production gradually fell off and by 1953 the overall rank was 9th.

The Springfield Coal, formerly known as the No. 5 Coal, is the major seam mined in this quadrangle. The coal is 200 to 270 feet deep and ranges from 5.5 to 6.0 feet thick. Clay veins, also called horsebacks, were present in the mines of the Williamsville Quadrangle, but were not noted for causing problems in controlling the mine roof in this area. The roof contained a large number of concretions in some localities, and one mine reported problems with the thick clay floor.