Interstate Subdistrict

The Interstate Subdistrict is located west of the Rosiclare and east of the Stewart Subdistricts. The subdistrict is named for the Interstate No. 1 Mine, which lies between the Cullum and Gibbons Mines, and the Interstate No. 2, which lies to the northeast. These mines worked mainly vein ore along the Interstate Fault Zone. The Interstate Fault Zone aligns with the Wallace Branch Fault Zone to the southwest and the Iron Furnace Fault Zone to the northeast. These fault zones are along the northwest side of the Rock Creek Graben. The mines of the Interstate Subdistrict (Figure 18) are discussed below.

Mines in the Interstate Subdistrict

Cox Mine Shafts and Prospect Pits

The Cox Mine was operated by Beecher Williams (Weller et al. 1952) and expanded into an open pit where gravel spar was mined. The pit was aligned along a vein that trended N 20° E and was about 4 feet wide. This pit was dug to about 70 feet below the surface, but the amount of production achieved is not documented. The ore was mostly fluorspar, with a minor amount of galena (Weller et al. 1952). More Information: 10106413

Miller Mine, Tri-State and Melcher Hills Mines

The Miller Mine, also called the Tri-State and Melcher Hills Mines, operated in the early 1900s. Horizontal drifts into the hillside east of Melcher Hill were first driven to mine bedding replacement deposits. In 1917, a shaft was sunk and encountered veins trending in a northeasterly direction. The veins were reported to be unusually rich in galena (Weller et al. 1920). Weller et al. (1952) also reported that gravel spar was worked at this location over a trend of N 15° E. More Information: 10106429

Dubois and Fisher Shafts

A Mr. Fisher of Detroit, Michigan, sunk the Fisher Shaft to a depth of 100 feet along the northeast side of Three Mile Creek in 1901. Shaft No. 1 was sunk to 40 feet in 1903, Shaft No. 4 was sunk to 20 feet in 1904, and Shaft No. 3 was reported to have been sunk to approximately 75 feet deep, but the year it was dug is not available (Swanson 1948). In 1942, Clifford Stone dug several shallow pits, sank another shaft to a depth of 38 feet, and shipped about 200 tons of processed ore (Swanson 1948). Ultimately, this property had at least eight shafts or pits, with unnamed shafts 75 and 175 feet southwest of Shaft No. 1 and another unnamed shaft about 30 feet south of Shaft No. 4 (Swanson 1948). In total, this complex produced an estimated 1,000 to 2,000 tons of processed ore (Swanson 1948). The Crown Fluorspar Corporation operated the nearby Dubois Mine along the Iron Furnace Fault Zone, sometimes called the Illinois Furnace Fault Zone (Weller et al. 1952). These faults trend N 60°–70° E and are nearly vertical. In 1944, the USGS drilled four core holes to a total combined depth of 1,106 feet (Swanson 1948). Two of the holes crossed the main fault and as many as five to six minor faults in the southeast sidewall through Chesterian strata. Very little fluorite was detected in the cores. Thus, the test drilling indicated a highly faulted area, with several nearly vertical faults and fractures trending N 60°–65° E that offset the strata vertically by about 850 feet (Swanson 1948). The dip of the fault is 85° SE near Shaft No. 1 and 85° NW near Shaft No. 4 (Swanson 1948). More Information: 10082974

Lavender Mine
C.H. Stone recovered small quantities of gravel spar from a vein that strikes north–south and dips at 80° W (Weller et al. 1952). A shaft was dug to 40 feet, but only minor production is documented (Weller et al. 1952). More Information: 10083006

Indiana Mine

The Indiana Mine property was owned by the Indiana Fluorspar and Lead Company from 1923 to 1925, which leased the property to the Hillside Fluorspar Mines Company (Bastin 1931). Ownership later passed to the U.S. Fluorspar Company, and it was later called Hillside Mine No. 2 and the Rogertown Mine (Weller et al. 1952). The mine produced a small amount of fluorite from two northeast-trending parallel veins about 130 feet apart, which dip very steeply to the west (Bastin 1931). The west vein was reported to be 4 feet wide, trending N 15° E and dipping 80° NW (Weller et al. 1952). Bastin (1931) reported that a 100-foot-deep shaft was driven on the west vein and that drifts were run at the 39- and 100-foot levels. A crosscut was driven to the much less productive eastern vein, but little ore was extracted from the vein. Total production from this mine was nearly 6,000 tons (Bastin 1931). More Information: 10082995

Preen Prospect

The Preen Prospect was composed of a few shallow pits dug in a general north–south direction. A small amount of spar was produced from a shaft that was 75 feet deep (Bastin 1931). This mine was producing ore in 1937 (Davis 1938). Ozark-Mahoning documents indicate that just south of the Preen Prospect, the Mann and Ferrell Prospects were present. No further information on either of these two prospects was found. More Information: 10083019

Pell Mine

The Pell Mine (sec. 24, T 12 S, R 7 E) had a mill served by a shaft 95 feet deep that was located near the St. Joseph Church. The shaft accessed a vein of fluorite, galena, and blende (sphalerite) trending N 20°–30° E and dipping to the east (Bain 1905). Galena content was moderately high in this vein (Bastin 1931). Development work was ongoing at this site in 1939 (Davis and Trought 1940). The mine was in production and operated by the Rosiclare Lead and Fluorspar Company by 1947 (Davis 1949) and by the Thurmond Coal Company by 1949 (Davis 1953). Weller et al. (1952) reported that a dragline was used to dig gravel spar to about 20 feet below the surface over a vein that was 4 feet wide. More Information: 10083018

Rahn-Crystal Prospect and Rahn Prospect
The Rahn-Crystal Prospect comprised two shafts about 20 feet deep (Weller et al. 1952). Core drilling was also conducted, but no production is on record. A shaft 90 feet deep was sunk at the Rahn Prospect, a separate operation south of the Rahn-Crystal Prospect, and “very minor showings of fluorspar” were encountered (Weller et al. 1952, p. 143). More Information: 10083020

Twitchell Mine and F. Twitchell Mine

Opened by Frank Twitchell before 1920, the Twitchell Mine (sec. 24, T 12 S, R 7 E) was later acquired by the Fluorspar Products Corporation and remained active into the 1940s. At least three shafts were sunk, one at least 70 feet deep, along a vein that averaged about 3 feet wide, trending N 10° E. The vein evidently followed a fault of small displacement that was not evident at the surface (Weller et al. 1920; Bastin 1931). Another F. Twitchell Mine (sec. 18, T 12 S, R 8 E) was probably located along an extension of the same structure as the Preen Prospect (Weller et al. 1952). This mine had a 70-foot-deep shaft and produced a small quantity of ore (Weller et al. 1952). The F. Twitchell plots very close to the Webber-Wood Mine. More Information: 10111328

Webber-Wood Mine

The Iron Age (1922) reported the following information: The Webber-Wood Spar Mining Co., 911 Third Street, Eldorado, Ill., recently incorporated with $50,000 capital stock, will soon open a fluorspar mine on land which the company owns five miles from Rosiclare, Ill. A force is now at work cutting the vein to determine how much fluorspar is available. Until this has been ascertained, no mining machinery will be purchased. Officers are O.E. Webber, president; D.L. Wood, vice-president; W.E. Troutman, second vice-president; Charles Burks, secretary-treasurer. (p. 478) According to Bastin (1931), the Webber-Wood Mine was worked for 200 feet along a vein trending N 20° W. Several shallow pits and shafts were opened, and the ore was washed with a log washer and transported to a rail siding at the Stewart Mine Complex. This mine is located just east of and trends parallel to the Preen Prospect. More Information: 10106431

Jackson Mine
J.M. Jackson opened the Jackson Mine and produced a small amount of gravel spar from pits less than 65 feet deep. Weller et al. (1952) reported that the vein trends N 25° N, an obvious typographical error that probably should read N 25° W. More Information: 10083000

Gibbons Mine

This mine was located along the Illinois Furnace Fault Zone, which trends N 50° E and dips to the southeast (Weller et al. 1952). A slope pitching 30°–45° and extending about 120 feet replaced an early 55-foot-deep shaft (Weller et al. 1952). A small amount of fluorspar was recovered from this mine (Weller et al. 1952). An Ozark-Mahoning map indicated the Sock Mine was located just west of this mine. No further information concerning the Sock Mine was found. The USGS 7.5-minute Rosiclare topographic map (photography updated in 1996) labeled this location as the K and R Mine More Information: 10082983

Interstate No. 1 and Austin Mine
This mine lies along the major northeast-trending fault between the Cullum and Gibbons Shafts. The Rosiclare Lead and Fluorspar Mining Company developed the mine from a shaft 100 feet deep to reach a vein running N 50° E and averaging about 1 foot wide (Weller et al. 1952). The USGS 7.5-minute Rosiclare topographic map labeled this mine complex as Austin. More Information: 10082997

Cullum Mine
Weller et al. (1952) reported at least two shafts at this mine along a vein trending N 50° E and dipping to the southeast. The deepest shaft was more than 150 feet. Weller et al. (1952) reported that the vein ranged up to 26 feet wide and was composed predominantly of fluorspar. Production figures are unknown despite the apparent richness of the deposit. More Information: 10106414

Cooper Mine
The Cooper Mine operated intermittently along a 3-foot-wide vein trending N 30° E dipping 80° NW (Weller et al. 1952). The depth of the shaft is reported to be 20 to 65 feet (Weller et al. 1952). More Information: 10082965

Martin Mine and Interstate No. 2

These mines were located in a complexly fractured area where several fault zones converge. To the northwest, a major fault juxtaposes the lower part of the St. Louis Limestone, with the Caseyville Formation along the northwest side of the Rock Creek Graben. The throw is approximately 1,500 feet, and many lesser faults strike parallel to the largest one. Several unnamed prospect pits and a shaft 128 feet deep in the north-central part of sec. 17, T 12 S, R 8 E worked gravel spar and deeper vein deposits (Weller et al. 1952). Another shaft at least 30 feet deep accessed veins of clear fluorite and pyrite in fractured sandstone. The Rosiclare Lead and Fluorspar Company recovered a considerable amount of ore in this area (Weller et al. 1952). More than 500 tons was produced in 1925 and 1926, and probably 400 additional tons was mined before 1925–1926 (Bastin 1931). Production continued through the 1940s. In 1948, the Rosiclare Lead and Fluorspar Company opened a gravel spar deposit 250 feet long and 16 feet wide (Davis 1945, 1950). Some historical references to the Interstate Mine do not differentiate between Interstate No. 1 and Interstate No. 2. However, Weller et al. (1952) and Baxter and Desborough (1965) indicated that the Interstate No. 2 property was located at the older Martin Mine property and that the Interstate No. 1 was located at the Austin property. The Austin property is marked on the most recent USGS Rosiclare 7.5-minute topographic map. More Information: 10082996

Montgomery Prospects
These prospects, pits, and shafts were dug from 40 to 140 feet deep (Weller et al. 1952). The general trend of the vein and accompanying fractures was N 45° E (Weller et al. 1952). More Information: 10083012

Peckerwood Prospect
In 1917 or 1918, a shaft 40 feet deep was sunk by unidentified parties southwest of the Berry Mine (600 feet from the south line, 1,550 feet from the west line, sec. 9, T 12 S, R 8 E). No production is on record (Weller 1944d). More Information: 10096677

Berry (Sweat) Mine

The Berry (or Sweat), Peckerwood, and Montgomery Shafts all sought ore along more or less the same vein within a complexly faulted area on the northwest side of the Rock Creek Graben. Among these, only the Berry Mine achieved production. In 1917, Roy Berry and H.C. Ferriman sank a shaft to a depth of 175 feet and conducted some drift work. Sometime later, a Mr. Sweat took control and extended the workings. Still later, the Big Creek Mining Company acquired the property and sank a second shaft to 90 feet deep. Finally, the Yingling Mining Company produced a small quantity of ore during the 1940s. The main vein ran N 55° E and dipped to the northwest. Shaft No. 1 was located 910 feet from the south line and 2,230 feet from the west line of sec. 9, T 12 S, R 8 E, whereas Shaft No. 2 was about 270 feet southeast at 810 feet from the south line and 2,470 feet from the west line of the same section (Weller 1944d). More Information: 10106411

References

Bain, H.F., 1905, The fluorspar deposits of southern Illinois: U.S. Geological Survey, Bulletin 255, 75 p.

Bastin, E.S., 1931, The fluorspar deposits of Hardin and Pope Counties, Illinois: Illinois Geological Survey, Bulletin 58, 116 p.

Baxter, J.W., and G.A. Desborough, 1965, Areal geology of the Illinois Fluorspar District: Part 2—Karbers Ridge and Rosiclare Quadrangles: Illinois State Geological Survey, Circular 385, 40 p.

Davis, H.W., 1938, Fluorspar and cryolite, in H.H. Hughes, ed., Minerals yearbook 1938 [year 1937]: U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Mines, Economics and Statistics Branch, p. 1195–1210.

Davis, H.W., 1945, Fluorspar and cryolite, in E.W. Pehrson, ed., Minerals yearbook 1943: U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Mines, Economics and Statistics Branch, p. 1411–1462.

Davis, H.W., 1949, Fluorspar and cryolite, in E.W. Pehrson and A.F. Matthews, eds., Minerals yearbook 1947: U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Mines, Economics and Statistics Division, p. 497–515.

Davis, H.W., 1950, Fluorspar and cryolite, in E.W. Pehrson and A.F. Matthews, eds., Minerals yearbook 1948: U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Mines, Economics and Statistics Division, p. 525–544.

Davis, H.W., 1953, Fluorspar and cryolite, in L.L. Fischman, ed., Minerals yearbook 1950: U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Mines, p. 521–538.

Davis, H.W. and M.E. Trought, 1940, Fluorspar and cryolite, in H.H. Hughes, ed., Minerals yearbook 1940 [year 1939]: U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Mines, Economics and Statistics Branch, p. 1333–1351.

Swanson, A.S., 1948, Investigation of the Dubois fluorite property, Hardin County Illinois: U.S. Bureau of Mines, Report of Investigations 4315, 7 p.

The Iron Age, 1922, Will open fluorspar mine, Aug. 24, p. 478.

Weller, J.M., 1944d, Illinois fluorspar investigations, III. Outlying properties, J. Berry Mine and vicinity: Illinois State Geological Survey, unpublished manuscript, filed under J.M. Weller, ms. 12-J, 14 p.

Weller, J.M., R.M. Grogan, and F.E. Tippie, 1952, Geology of the fluorspar deposits of Illinois: Illinois State Geological Survey, Bulletin 76, 147 p.

Weller, S., C. Butts, L.W. Currier, and R.D. Salisbury, 1920, The geology of Hardin County and the adjoining part of Pope County: Illinois State Geological Survey, Bulletin 41, 416 p.