Mining Black Diamonds

Mining Black Diamonds. Braidwood's Coal Boom. In 1864, farmer Thomas Byron dug a well and struck "black diamonds" - coal. The next year, Scottish miner James Braidwood sank the first shaft. Towns like Braidwood, Coal City, Carbon Hill, Diamond, and Godley sprang up. These villages were home to immigrants who toiled in the perpetual darkness of the mines. In Godley, many found employment at the K Mine, M Mine, and Shotz, Torino, and Rixson mines., Forming a Union, The United Mine Workers Union formed in 1890 to demand better pay and working conditions. Miners and coal companies often clashed in strikes and bloody conflicts. , Life-Threatening for Men and Boys, Coal miners and their young sons working 100 feet underground faced constant dangers. At Diamond Mine, just four miles from here, snowmelt in February 1883 flooded the mine and 74 men and boys died within minutes. This photograph of the mine was taken just after the disaster. , A Changing Industry, Most Braidwood mines closed by 1900, while other local mines operated through World War I. Strip mining began in 1928 and ended by 1974. The area's coal was used to stoke furnaces in businesses and homes and locomotives.