Diamond Mine Disaster - Diamond, IL
Posted by: cldisme
N 41° 17.319 W 088° 15.029
16T E 395291 N 4571554
Two sets of memorials for one mine disaster in 1883.
Waymark Code: WM3GHA
Location: Illinois, United States
Date Posted: 04/03/2008
Views: 35
On February 16, 1883, heavy rains and snowmelt caused a rush of water to flood the coal mines in Diamond, Illinois. Seventy-four men and boys drowned. As a result of this disaster, the United Mine Workers of America erected, in 1898, the black granite monument in memory of those who perished.
This memorial reads:
Sacred To The Memory Of Our
DECEASED BROTHERS
Who Lost Their Lives
By The Flooding Of The
DIAMOND MINE
Feb. 16, 1883
Later in 1926, the Braidwood Homecoming Association added a plaque which lists the name of every victim.
To accompany these memorials and add a historical perspective, the Illinois Department of Transportation and Illinois State Historical Society installed a
historical marker to describe the events.