Gillespie Silhouette
Heart of Coal Country
Gillespie Area Mines
Waves of European immigrants poured into Gillespie in the 1880s to work its coal mines. In the early 1900s, the Chicago and North Western Railroad opened four mines to fuel its locomotives. Locals knew each town by its mine number: Eagerville (No. 1), Sawyerville (No. 2), Mount Clare (No. 3), and Wilsonville (No. 4). The Little Dog Mine operated here from 1918 to 1968. Although the mines are now closed, Gillespie still celebrates this heritage each June with Black Diamond Days.
The Mine Wars
Miners' wages dropped due to low coal demand during the Great Depression. In 1932, workers picketed and organized the Progressive Miners of America Unions at a Gillespie convention. Over the next four years, 21 members were killed during during conflicts. Their struggle was memorialized in 1936 with the Mother Jones Monument at Union Miners Cemetery in nearby Mount Olive.
Constant Threat of Death
Miners toiled in perpetual darkness under the threat of cave-ins, gas explosions, or inhaling coal dust and methane. During the last century, 100,000 coal miners died in America, including more than 400 here in Macoupin County.
Gillespie Area Mines
Waves of European immigrants poured into Gillespie in the 1880s to work its coal mines. In the early 1900s, the Chicago and North Western Railroad opened four mines to fuel its locomotives. Locals knew each town by its mine number: Eagerville (No. 1), Sawyerville (No. 2), Mount Clare (No. 3), and Wilsonville (No. 4). The Little Dog Mine operated here from 1918 to 1968. Although the mines are now closed, Gillespie still celebrates this heritage each June with Black Diamond Days.
The Mine Wars
Miners' wages dropped due to low coal demand during the Great Depression. In 1932, workers picketed and organized the Progressive Miners of America Unions at a Gillespie convention. Over the next four years, 21 members were killed during during conflicts. Their struggle was memorialized in 1936 with the Mother Jones Monument at Union Miners Cemetery in nearby Mount Olive.
Constant Threat of Death
Miners toiled in perpetual darkness under the threat of cave-ins, gas explosions, or inhaling coal dust and methane. During the last century, 100,000 coal miners died in America, including more than 400 here in Macoupin County.
