Coal Miners Memorial
Site Descriptions (Alphabetical)
Belleville Labor and Industry Museum
The museum is located in a 160-year-old former cigar factory at 123 North Church Street, in Belleville. It contains a collection of photographs, documents, and patents relating to labor and industry in the city. The museum is open on Saturdays from 10 to 4, or by appointment. For information, call (618) 222-9430.
Bloomington Workers Memorial
The memorial is located in White Oak Park, in Bloomington and honors local workers who have died on the job.
Centralia Mine Disaster
On March 25, 1947, an underburdened shot or blown-out shot ignited coal dust which caused a gas explosion in the Centralia No. 5 coal mine near Centralia. The mine was exceedingly dry and dusty. Heavy deposits of coal dust were present along the roadways and on the roof, ribs, and timbers in working places and entries. At the time of the explosion most of the men were at the man trips on the entries waiting for the shot firers to complete lighting the shots so they could ride to the shaft bottoms on the man trips. The explosion caused the death of 111 miners.
Champaign County Workers Memorial
The memorial is located in Dodds Park, on Parkland Way just west of Mattis Ave. in Champaign, near the Olympic Tribute. It consists of a circular concrete pad with three large black standing tablets, two engraved with the names of those who have died on the job in Champaign County since 1950. The memorial was dedicated on September 2, 2002.
Chatham Railroad Museum
The museum is located in the old Chicago & Alton Railroad depot, at 100 N. State St. in Chatham. The permanent collection includes a library of railroad-related books, photographs, memorabilia, and examples of railroad equipment. The museum is open from 2-4 p.m. on the second and fourth Sundays of each month. Admission is free. For more information, call (217) 483-7792.
Cherry Mine Disaster
An historical marker is located in the village park,
Cherry, on Illinois route 89. Just north of Cherry are the remnants of the Cherry Coal Mine where 259 miners lost their lives in a fire in the mine on November 13, 1909, in one of the worst mine disasters in United States history. The fire was apparently caused by the ignition of a load of hay intended for mule stables in the mine and it spread rapidly. The disaster led to the passage of stricter mine safety regulations and of the Illinois Workmen's Compensation Act. The site of the mine is marked by a large pyramid, and in the cemetery is a monument to the victims erected by the United Mine Workers of America. An exhibit of items relating to the disaster is in the Cherry Public Library.
The Coal Miner
This 7-foot bronze statue is located on the northeast grounds of the state
capital in Springfield. Modeled by Michael F. Widman, an official of the United Mine Workers of America and sculpted by John Szaton, this figure honors miners killed on the job in over a century of mining in Illinois.
Coal Miners Memorial
The memorial is located at 100 E. Main Street, in West Frankfort, adjacent to the Depot Veterans Museum. The granite pyramid is a symbol of Little Egypt and honors all coal miners. On December 21, 1951, around 8:30 p.m., a methane gas explosion caused a fire in the New Orient Mine No. 2 at West Frankfort, killing 119 miners. The blast was so strong it knocked cars weighing several tons off tracks and brought down overhead timbers. The explosion blew out the ventilating equipment in the mine, which had to be repaired before rescue operations could begin. For information, call (618) 937-2205.
Coal Miners' Memorial Monument
The monument is located in the Union Cemetery in Panama, a city about 60 miles south of Springfield. The 10-foot tall monument is made of black marble and bears an etching of an early coal miner and a quotation from John L. Lewis, former president of the United Mine Workers, who lived in Panama and served as president of the local union in 1910. It is especially dedicated to the 6 miners who lost their lives in a 1915 gas explosion in the Panama mine who are buried in unmarked graves in the cemetery. A total of 144 engraved memorial bricks, which were sold to raise funds for the monument, are laid at the site. The monument was dedicated on May 25, 2003.
Diamond Mine Disaster
An historical marker is located in Diamond Park, in Diamond, which is near Braidwood, on the Grundy-Will County Line. On February 16, 1883, part of the mine collapsed from the weight of melting snow, ice and heavy rains, trapping miners below. Numerous men and boys were killed, some as young as 13 years old. Steam pumps pumped water out of the mine for 38 days and recovery efforts did not begin until March 25. Shortly after, the mine was sealed with the remaining 46 miners entombed.
Dowell
This city, in Jackson County, was named for
George W. Dowell, 1879-1952, legal counsel for the Progressive Miners of
America.
Fansteel Inc.
This plant at 1 Tantalum Place in North Chicago was the location of a sitdown strike in 1937 where strikers were driven out by tear gas. The incident led to a decision of the United States Supreme Court in 1939 that sitdown strikes are illegal.
First Coal Mine
An historical marker (since vanished), located on the north side of Illinois Route 127 at the east end of the bridge over the Big Muddy River east
of Murphysboro, commemorates the first commercial coal mining operations in Illinois, which were located in the Big Muddy River bluffs about 100 yards west of the highway bridge. These outcroppings not only supplied local needs, but--perhaps as early as 1810--coal from them was sent by flatboat to market in New Orleans.
Graceland Cemetery
The cemetery is at 4001 N. Clark St., in Chicago, with the main entrance near Clark Street and Irving Park Road. Among those buried here are company founders George Pullman, Philip D. Armour, and Cyrus Hall McCormick;
Governor John Peter Altgeld, who pardoned the remaining men convicted of the Haymarket bombing; and Allan Pinkerton, founder of the detective agency. The cemetery is open from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. For information, call (773) 525-1105.
Margaret A. Haley
A plaque honoring Margaret A. Haley (1861-1939) is located in the headquarters of the Chicago Teachers' Union in the Merchandise Mart in Chicago. Margaret Haley was a pioneer of teacher unionism in the city. She was the first business representative of the Chicago Teachers Federation and a founder of and the first national organizer of the American Federation of Teachers.
Haymarket Martyrs Monument
The monument, by sculptor Albert Weinert, is located in Forest Home (Waldheim) Cemetery, in the 900 block of S. Des Plaines Ave., just south of the Eisenhower Expressway, in Forest Park. It marks the graves of 7 of the 8 Haymarket martyrs and is dedicated to the four men hanged for the Haymarket bombing of May 4, 1886. The monument takes its inspiration from "La Marseillaise", the national anthem of France. It depicts a laurel wreath being placed on the brow of the fallen hero, as the figure of Justice advances resolutely toward the future. The Pioneer Aid and Support Society erected the monument and dedicated it on June 25, 1893. It was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1997.
Haymarket Riot
An historical marker is located in the sidewalk at Randolph and Des Plaines streets in Chicago. On May 4, 1886, hundreds of workers
gathered at this site to demand the eight-hour day and to protest police action of the previous day against strikers at the McCormick Reaper plant. A bomb was thrown into the crowd by an unknown person, killing 1 police officer and wounding about 100 other people. Police started shooting, killing and injuring other police and workers. Eight anarchist leaders who were involved in organizing the meeting were found guilty of murder, and four were hanged.
Herrin Massacre
On June 21-22, 1922, near Herrin, clashes
between striking miners at the Southern Illinois Coal Co. strip mine and strikebreakers occurred, causing a total of 22 deaths. During a national strike by the United Mine Workers of America, the Herrin workers agreed to mine coal but stockpile it until after the strike, in an effort to ease the financial position of the coal company. When the company shipped the coal anyway using strikebreakers, the miners besieged the mine. The strikebreakers surrendered, and, while they were being marched toward Herrin, were fired upon as they ran away. Twenty strikebreakers were killed. A coroner's jury attributed the deaths to the influence of the officials of the coal company, and at a subsequent trial in the courthouse at Herrin, all the accused miners were acquitted.
Hull House Museum
Two restored original buildings from Chicago's first settlement house, founded by Jane Addams in 1889, are located at 800 S. Halsted Street, Chicago. Addams devoted her life to social
improvement, the abolishment of sweatshops, and securing the
passage of legislation to improve working conditions. Hull House
is a National Historic Landmark and is operated by the University of Illinois at Chicago. Hours are weekdays 10-4, Sunday noon-5. Admission is free. For information, call (312) 413-5353.
Illinois Department of Corrections Memorial
A memorial wall at the Pontiac Correctional Center in Pontiac honors the memory of Illinois Department of Corrections workers who died on the job. Dedicated May 9, 2002.
Illinois Workers Memorial
The memorial is located on the lawn of the State Capitol building in Springfield near Monroe St. It was sculpted by Peter Fagan and consists of a group of three bronze figures depicting an injured worker being helped by a co-worker with a third individual representing the future. The theme of the memorial is Mother Jones' quote, "Mourn for the dead...Fight for the living." The memorial honors all workers in Illinois who were killed or injured on the job, and it was dedicated on April 28, 1992.
Irish Railroad Workers Monument
The memorial, which consists of a 6-foot marble celtic cross with an inscription in English and Gaelic on a bronze plaque, is at the site of a mass grave of 150 Irish immigrant railroad workers anonymously buried in Funk's Grove cemetery, 8 miles south of Bloomington. The laborers laid a rail line from Springfield to Bloomington in the 1850s. It is presumed they were the victims of the 1850s cholera epidemic. Dedicated on Workers' Memorial Day, April 28, 2000.
Ironworkers Memorial
The polished granite memorial is located along Lorentz Ave., just west of Route 29 in Peoria and honors three members of Ironworkers Local 112 killed when a portion of the scaffolding they were standing on while repairing the McClugage Bridge in Peoria gave way, plunging them 60 feet into the Illinois River. The 4 by 5 foot granite slab has a picture of the McClugage Bridge and the names of the workers killed etched in it. The memorial also includes a granite bench and landscaping. Dedicated on April 24, 2001.
Leclaire Village
Leclaire, Illinois, which is now a part of Edwardsville, was an experimental model factory community founded by industrialist N.O. Nelson. Nelson, who emigrated to this country as a child from Norway, visited progressive industrial communities in Europe and the United States before proposing his idea to his company shareholders in 1889. Nelson supported labor management cooperation, profit sharing and employee stock ownership, and the cooperative movement. He reduced workweeks to avoid layoffs in bad times. Nelson had to leave the company after the failure of another business forced him into personal bankruptcy and he used his company stock to pay off his debts. The factory was sold to Wagner Electric and later acquired by Southern Illinois University, which converted it to warehousing and administrative offices, with some student art studios. Leclaire, which was annexed by Edwardsville in the 1930s, is listed in the National Register of Historic Places.
John L. Lewis Grave
The grave is located in Oak Ridge Cemetery on Monument Ave. in Springfield. John L. Lewis (1880-1969), was president of the United Mine Workers of America from 1920 to 1960. He founded the Congress of Industrial Organizations in 1935 and served as its president until 1940. Lewis was born in Iowa and worked as a coal miner in Illinois and Iowa. He served in various offices in the UMWA before becoming its president.
John Mitchell 1870-1919
This historical marker is duplicated in three places in Spring
Valley: the intersection of May St. and East Dakota St.
(U.S. Route 6), the intersection of Strong Ave. and West Dakota St.,
and the intersection of Caroline St. and South Spaulding St. (Illinois
Route 89). John Mitchell was born in Braidwood on February 4, 1870, and began work as a breaker boy in the Braidwood coal mines at the age of 12. From 1890 to 1910 he lived at 210 E. Dakota St. in Spring Valley. He joined the United Mine Workers of America in 1890 at its founding, rising through the ranks, and he served as president of the union from 1899-1908. He achieved national prominence in the settlement of the Pennsylvania anthracite miners strike in 1902. During World War I, he served on several city, state, and regional agencies, including as chairman of the New York State Industrial Commission. Mitchell died September 9, 1919, in New York City and was buried at Scranton PA.
Madison County Workers Memorial
Located at the entrance to Gordon F. Moore Park in Alton. The memorial is a life-size sculpture of a worker carrying his hard hat and lunch pail on a red granite base and with winged memorials of granite containing the names of the men and women of Madison County who died on the job.
Memorial Day Massacre
A memorial to the persons who died in the Memorial Day Massacre of 1937 is located at the union hall of United Steelworkers of America Local 1033 at 11731 Ave. O, Chicago. When Republic Steel refused to recognize the Steelworkers Organizing Committee, supporters from around Chicago gathered at the union's headquarters on Memorial Day in 1937 and marched toward the Republic Steel mill. Police tried to stop the march and fired into the crowd, killing 10 people and pursuing fleeing demonstrators. For information, call (773) 646-0800.
Mother Jones Monument
The monument was erected in 1936 and marks the grave of Mother Jones (1830-1930) in the Union Miners' Cemetery in Mount Olive. The monument consists of a granite obelisk with a medallion bearing Mother Jones' likeness flanked by two bronze statues of coal miners. The monument is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Moweaqua Coal Mine Museum
The museum is located on Route 51 in Moweaqua. It was opened in 1985 to commemorate the Moweaqua coal mine disaster of December 24, 1932, in which a gas explosion killed 54 miners. Methane gas escaped into the mine and was ignited by open flame carbide lights. Such lights were subsequently no longer used. Exhibits include coal mining tools and equipment, contemporary accounts of the disaster, and related artifacts. Each Christmas and Memorial Day, a ceremony is held during which 54 flags, each containing an image of a coal miner and his lamp, are displayed. For information, call (217) 768-3019.
Lucy Parsons Park
Located at 4712 W. Belmont Ave. in Chicago, the vest-pocket park is named for Lucy Ella Gonzales Parsons (1853-1942), organizer, feminist, and anarchist, the wife of Albert Parsons, who was hanged in 1887 for participation in the Haymarket Riot. Lucy Parsons was a noted public speaker and writer. She attended the founding convention in Chicago of the Industrial Workers of the World in 1905 and led a march of Chicago uemployed in 1915.
Peoria Workers Memorial
The memorial is located in front of the Peoria city hall, and was erected by the West Central Illinois Labor Council.
Pinkerton's Early Home
An historical marker located at South 3rd and Main St. in West
Dundee, marks the location of the home and cooperage of Allan Pinkerton, who founded the famous detective agency in Chicago in 1850. Pinkerton lived here from 1844-1850 and sheltered slaves escaping to freedom. He later became sheriff of Kane County and was head of the Union Army spy service during the Civil War. Pinkerton detectives were often hired as spies or security guards in labor disputes.
Pullman Historic District
Centering around 111th Street and Cottage Grove Ave. in
Chicago, the district extends east to I-94. The first planned industrial town in the nation, Pullman was founded in 1880 by George Pullman, inventor of the railroad sleeping car, for his workers. In 1894, violence connected with a strike over wage cuts caused President Cleveland to send federal troops to restore order. In 1907 the town was annexed to Chicago. A visitors center is located at the Florence Hotel, 11111 S. Forrestville. For information, call (312) 785-8181.
A. Philip Randolph Pullman Porter Museum
The privately-run museum was founded in 1995 as a tribute to Pullman porters, whose union, the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, was the first black labor union to negotiate a collective bargaining agreement with a major corporation. The museum is located at 10406 S. Maryland Ave. in Chicago.
Railroad Park
This is a free public park located at 124 N. Ninth St., just off the Lincoln Highway, in Rochelle. The park is just east of the intersection of the Union Pacific and Burlington Northern Santa Fe railroad tracks. A covered, raised observation platform permits railroad fans to view the over 100 trains which pass by each day. There is a picnic pavilion and speakers carrying BNSF and UP radio transmissions, plus a gift shop. The park is always open, but the hours of the visitors center are 9-5 daily except Tuesdays. More information can be found at the park's web site. If you are a member of trains.com, you can view the Rochelle railroad action on the site's webcam.
Railroad Workers Monument
The monument, dedicated in 1982, is located in Miller Park in Bloomington and commemorates the railroad car building and repair shop workers in the former Chicago & Alton Railroad Company shops in the city, which opened in 1854 and ceased operations in the late 1970s. It is composed of a 6-foor tall whistle, which was blown for beginning and ending work and for lunch breaks at the old shops, mounted on limestone blocks salvaged from the steel car shop walls. A plaque dedicates the monument to the thousands who worked in the shops.
Rock Island Railroad Museum
The museum is located in the former Rock Island Depot at 1202 Third St., Rock Island. It contains artifacts and displays featuring the history of railroading in the city, including a 17 by 30 foot model train display replicating the rail lines that go through the city. Hours are 1 to 4 p.m. on Wednesdays and the first Sunday of each month.
Rock Island Workers Memorial
Located in a park in Rock Island which was the site of the former AFL Labor Temple. Dedicated to workers who have lost their lives on the job.
Shell Wood River History Museum
The museum is located at Illinois Route 111 and Madison Ave. in Roxana in a former diagnostic center used for testing cars and engines to produce more efficient fuel. It was founded by retirees from the Shell Wood River Refining Co. in 1993 and contains artifacts and memorabilia from the company. The museum is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Wednesdays and Thursdays. For information, call (618) 255-3718.
Southern Illinois Coal Miners Memorial
The monument consists of a stone slab with the figure of a coal miner etched in it. It is located in the city park in Marissa, and honors the coal miners of Southern Illinois. It was dedicated August 1, 1921.
Union Miners Cemetery
Located in Mount Olive. The cemetery was founded in 1899 originally to house the graves of Mt. Olive miners killed in the Virden Riot. It contains the graves of Mother Jones and coal miners. The cemetery is on the National Register of Historic Places.
UPS Strike Mural
At Jackson and Ashland Streets in Chicago, there is a mural painting inspired by the 1997 UPS strike.
Virden Riot
On October 12, 1898, twelve people were killed and over 40 wounded in clashes near Virden between striking miners and imported strikebreakers and armed guards hired by the Chicago-Virden Coal Co. Despite a statewide agreement made in January 1898, the company refused to pay the new wage of 40 cents per ton. When the miners struck, the company recruited African-American strikebreakers from Alabama and hired security guards. A train carrying strikebreakers and guards from St. Louis to Virden was fired upon by the miners. Eight miners and four security guards were killed and over 40 people were injured. A month later the company agreed to pay the wage increase.
Workers Memorial
A mural dedicated to workers who died on the job is located in the lobby at IBEW Local 134 in Chicago. The memorial was dedicated in 1998.
Last Modified:
Tuesday, 28-Feb-2006 11:05:06 CST by LH
Illinois Labor Historic Sites,
Landmarks, and Memorials