Toluca Coal Mine, Toluca, IL
Posted by: 
KG1960
N 40° 59.970 W 089° 00.000
16T E 331790 N 4540628
Quick Description: This coal mine was active in the early part of the 20th century, and it closed in 1924. Now it is part of a city park.
SW 148.9 km from your present location
Location: Illinois, United States
Date Posted: 1/22/2007 4:34:27 PM
Waymark Code: WM15JC
Views: 134
Long Description:This site is now a city park, but was the site of the Devlin Coal
Company where the coal production peaked in 1905 and ended in 1924
with the closure of the mine. All that remained of the mine were
two slag piles. This area including the slag piles was made into a
city park offering picnicking, hiking trails, and other outdoor
activities. There is a viewing platform on top of one of the slag
piles.
If you like watching trains, this park is a good place. It
offers a clear view of the BNSF RR mainline (formerly the Santa Fe
RR).
When arriving in Toluca, follow the signs, "Toluca Coal Mine
Jumbo." It is located on the south side of the railroad tracks. The
only obvious sign at the parking lot for the park is the Illinois
Historical Marker titled, "Toluca Coal Mine".
In 1893 the Santa Fe Railroad authorized Charles Devlin, their
manager of mining properties, to purchase the mineral rights here
to 11,000 acres. The Devlin Coal Company sank two shafts and began
producing coal using the longwall method, extracting coal from a
seam as work progressed along a continuous working face. At its
peak in 1905, 771 workers produced 379,000 tons of coal.
The mine attracted hundreds of immigrants, especially Italians.
Toluca boomed until the mine closed in 1924, unable to compete with
mines that produced coal at greater efficiency. These two slag
heaps, “The Jumbos,” are memorials to the region’s coal industry
and its workers.
The slag heaps were climbed by children until constant erosion
made them unsafe. An agreement between the City Council of Toluca
and the Ill Department of Natural Resources promoted the repair and
restoration of the Jumbos, and now they are part of a city
park.