Shawneetown Quadrangle

The earliest mining in this area was said to have been at the Bowlesville Coal Company Mine (mine index 4163), some time before the Civil War. The latest mining was completed in 1993 at the Peabody Coal Company’s Eagle No. 2 Underground Mine (mine index 0898). Mining in this quadrangle took place mainly in the Herrin Coal and the Springfield Coal, but some mining was also done in the Briar Hill Coal and the Davis & Dekoven Coals, with another small mine said to have mined the Gentry Coal.

Mining has been influenced in this quadrangle by the Shawneetown and Wabash Valley Fault Zones, as well as the Fluorspar Fault Complex. These fault zones have hindered mining in much of this quadrangle by either making the coal too faulted to safely mine underground, or too deep to mine economically. Because of the presence of the Shawneetown Fault System, a number of publications have been produced that examine this area in detail. Two such publications with more information include Availability of Coal Resources for mining in Illinois: Shawneetown Quadrangle, Gallatin County, Illinois and Union County Kentucky (ISGS OFS1999-7) and Geology and Mineral Resources of the Equality-Shawneetown Area: (Parts of Gallatin and Saline Counties) (ISGS Bulletin 47).

Coal Mines In Illinois Shawneetown Quadrangle