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| William A. Shaffer posted Coal Mine Tipple .(September, 1972) Lincoln, IL (Photo by William A. Shaffer) I would drive by this abandoned coal mine at Lincoln, IL every time I drove from Troy to Galesburg. On the way home this particular day, I stopped and took a series of photographs. The property was surrounded by waist-high weeds so I tip-toed cautiously, watching for "No Trespassing" Signs and Snakes. (I was much more afraid of Snakes!). I encountered none of either so I went about taking photographs. This is one of the color shots I did! |
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| Dennis DeBruler commented on William's post Do you remember where it was in Lincoln? |
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| Dennis DeBruler commented on William's post Based on the date of 1972, I would guess it was index 639. But that was a ways off the beaten path. William A. Shaffer: As I recall, I could see it from Highway 121. It was a ways off from the highway because I had to walk quite a ways through waist-high weeds. I hope this helps you. Dennis DeBruler William A. Shaffer Thanks. If you took Highway 121, then the 639 location is probably where this was at. |
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| William A. Shaffer posted Coal Mine Tipple (Circa 1972) Lincoln, IL (Photo by William A. Shaffer) At one time, Illinois was dotted with structures like this one! Today, they are just a thing of the past! |
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| William A. Shaffer posted Coal Mine at Lincoln, IL On one of many trips between Troy, IL and Galesburg, IL, I decided to stop at Lincoln and photograph this coal mine. The mine was no longer in operation and since I encountered no "No Trespassing" Signs, I stepped on the property. Herd ie one of the photos I shot. (Photo by William A. Shaffer) |
He sent four more photos to the Lincoln Daily News.
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| FindingLincolnIllinois
The Deer Creek, or Bennis, Coal Mine was the last functional coal mine in the immediate Lincoln area. Bennis had "decided to develop a mine which would produce coal for the area as well as aid the local economy by providing jobs," and most of the coal "was used within a 50-mile radius of Lincoln" (Gleason, Lincoln: A Pictorial History, p. 32).
Because the Bennis Mine was developed in recent history, its story is well documented in "Deer Creek Mine Begun by Steve Bennis in 1936; Many Improvements Made Since (Lincoln Evening Courier, August 26, 1953, section 5, p. 15). In the 1940s and early 1950s, demand for stoker coal was high, and the owners continued to invest in new methods and innovative technology. "The price of the coal has been held below that of shipped-in coal of equal quality and during the life of the mine the payroll has totaled $1,7653,686.66; 21 former miners and one miner's widow are drawing pensions from the miners' welfare fund; thus one can easily see that the Deer Creek Mine has been and is an asset to this community. The mine represents a total investment of approximately $400,000 and seventeen years of effort." This account in the 1953 centennial edition of the Courier offers no hint that the mine would close in the following year.
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| El-Ben Coal Mine |
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| The legal description lists this as : Logan County - Township 19 North, 2 West, Section 5, SE SW SE Underground Mine, at a depth of 273 feet, and an average coal seam of 5.1 feet in thickness. |
| Mine Name | Operated By | Years | ||
| Deer Creek Coal Mine | Deer Creek Coal Company | 1937 - 1947 | ||
| Deer Creek Coal Mine | Steve Bennis | 1948 - 1953 | ||
| Deer Creek Coal Mine | Deer Creek Coal Company | 1954 - 1956 | ||
| Lincoln Coal Mine No. 1 | Lincoln Coal Mining Company | 1956 - 1963 | ||
| Logan County Coal Mine | Logan County Coal Mining Company | 1963 - 1965 | ||
| El-Ben Coal Mine No. 2 | El-Ben Coal Company | 1965 - 1968 |
[Source - No. 1, Index 639]
In the comments on the posting, William mentioned he took the photos about 40 years ago and that the mine was off Rt. 121. I suspect that it was here because it would have rail access.
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| William Shaffer posted Hoisting Engineer's Station Every Coal Mine had a tipple and a cage. The tipple was used to hoist up the coal from underground and the cage was used to take the miners down to the mine and then back up at the end of their shift. This would have been the Hoisting Engineer's Station. I shot this photo inside a coal mine in Lincoln, IL, but I imagine the mine in Troy would have been similar. My grandfather, James P. Shaffer, Sr., was the hoisting engineer out at the Troy Coal Company on what is now Illinois 162. (Photo by William A. Shaffer) |
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| William A. Shaffer posted Abandoned Coal Mine (September, 1972) Lincoln, IL (Photo by William A. Shaffer) I shot this photo from the top of a slag pile. I was fascinated by the mine structure and had passed it many times. This time, I stopped to take photographs and I'm glad I did. I'm sure this is gone by now! |
I was born and raised about 1/2 mile from the Bennis coal mine - I used to stare at it across a couple of corn fields during my youth - part of the skyline out in the country where I lived. It was finally demolished in the late 70s I believe - always a sense of mystery about the place; a few ghost stories and other nefarious activities said to have gone on there during and after its operations....
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