Madison Coal Corporation Coal Mine #1 & Clover Leaf Station

Madison Coal Corporation Coal Mine #1 and Clover Leaf Station. Nickel Plate Trail. Coal Mine #1 opened in 1892, it was located just off Meridian Road one third of a mile north of the Covered Bridge. In November 1893, a major fire erupted that destroyed all top buildings and machinery. The loss was estimated at $30,000 and the Madison Coal Corporation had no insurance. The sixteen men working in the mine were hoisted through the air shaft and escaped without injury. The mine resumed operations by January 1894, however, it was short lived. Mine #1 was abandoned in 1897 due to severe water seepage. , Clover Leaf Station was located east of Meridian Road between the tracks just north of Miner Park. John F. Dickman was the agent/telegraph operator for both Peters and Glen Carbon until 1904 when the stations were separated and he was put in charge of the work at Peters. Both the Illinois Central and the Clover Leaf railroads provided passenger service to St. Louis several times a day. During the 1904 World's Fair in St. Louis, railroad service passed through Glen Carbon beginning at 6 a.m. and consisted of 22 passenger trains per day. In addition, another dozen or more of the lucrative freight train traffic came through each weekday., Villagers could spend the day in St. Louis shopping or attending the World's Fair and still catch the 10:10 train home., The Litchfield and Madison Railroad (L&M) constructed tracks, circa 1900, parallel to the Clover Leaf. In 1922, the Clover Leaf became the Nickel Plate Railroad.