Documentary sources indicate that this site represents the surface complex of the Manhattan Mine, a slope coal mine that was in operation from 1901 to 1939. It operated under several different names during its history.
The Manhattan Mine reportedly was opened in 1901 by the Manhattan Coal Company. It was a local mine, meaning its coal was sold locally and transported by wagon/truck, as opposed to rail. We do not know the reason “Manhattan” was selected as the name for the mine, as it does not appear to reference a local feature or place name. The mine had a very modest scale of production during its early years of operation. For the year ending June 1904, for instance, the mine produced only 3,600 tons of coal. The haulage along the working face of the mine was done by mule, but the filled coal cars were “hoisted”— or rather pulled—up the slope entry with a steam engine. The coal seam worked at that time was located 90’ below the surface. All of the coal was hand excavated. By 1906, the name of the mining company had been changed to the Manhattan Fuel Company. Over the course of World War I (1914-1918), the Manhattan Mine doubled its production, becoming the leader among local mines in Tazewell County. During the year ending June 30, 1918, it produced 20,000 tons of coal over 290 days of operation, while employing twenty-one individuals. All of the mining there still was done by hand, versus by machine. Marion Marteness apparently retained ownership of the Manhattan Mine into the early 1920s. The 1920 census reports him and his family as residing in a home they owned in East Peoria. Marteness was then forty-eight years old and still engaged as a coal mine “Operator”.
Production at the Manhattan Mine dropped after the World-War-era boom and remained relatively modest into the middle 1920s. In 1925, for instance, the mine produced slightly over 14,000 tons of coal. By 1930, however, over 50,000 tons of coal were hauled from the mine. Employment at the Manhattan Mine also had risen markedly during this period, rising from forty-three miners in 1925 to seventy-seven in 1930. This increase in production was facilitated in part by the introduction of mechanized mining methods. In 1930, three mining machines were in use, besides one motor for haulage. These changes likely occurred in conjunction with the opening of a new slope entry, located south of the earlier mine entrance and leading some 850’-900’ away to a working face in Section 5. If this is true, the surface works at the mine possibly were also remodeled at this time, with the core of the complex being shifted south (into the project area), close to the new slope entry.
Between July 1, 1934 and June 30, 1935, the Manhattan Mine produced over 70,000 tons of coal over 165 days of operation and employed 121 men. It was Tazewell County’s largest Local Mine, and actually ranked second overall, in terms of production, among all mines in the county. All of the coal was machine mined, with four machines being in use. No motors were reported in the mine for this year. Since 1930, the Manhattan Mining Company had started to abandon the traditional use of black powder for dropping coal, in favor of pellet powder—a more stable explosive. Although 40 kegs of black powder were still used at the mine in 1934-1935, this figure paled in comparison to the 20,150 pounds of pellet powder expended during the same period.
A 1939 aerial photograph provides the most detailed illustration of the Manhattan Mine during its period of operation. Details of this image, with key landscape and structural features noted, are attached as Figures 12 and 13 (See Gallery Pics). The photograph was taken during the mine’s final year of production.
For the year ending June 30, 1939, the Manhattan Mine had produced 65,530 tons of coal over 161 days of operation. Production thus remained high at the mine nearly up to the point of its closure, as did its number of employees, which stood at 114. The operation was still machine-mining all of its coal, with four cutting machines and one motor being in use. In addition, six animals (presumably mules) were employed for underground haulage. The reasons for the mine’s closure are unknown.
CO Note: Now all that is left of this installation is a big industrial sand pit with a large pile of rubble relocated to a wooded area nearby. If you look around, you can see other identifiers from the past, including what I believe is the old "Dump Car Tramway" still etched into the hillside, it can't be missed!
This cache was placed with permission by Fondulac Park District.