Coal Mining and Identity

Coal mining was once the burning heart of the Illinois economy. However, since after the Second World War, the coal mining industry in Illinois has been in decline. Where once there were thousands of mines in operation, now there are dozens. Despite its reduced economic relevance for the state, the culture of coal mining lingers in the lives and memories of Illinois residents. More than just an occupation, coal mining touched every aspect of life from religion, to social class, to individual and community identity. 

This exhibit uses items from the 2024 History Harvest to tell the stories of coal miners here in Illinois, focusing heavily on how occupations create shared bonds of identity. Each item has something to say about the history of coal in Illinois and abroad, as industry connected the world, coal, one of its main fuels, connected people. A United Mine Workers Union card from 1898 offers an example of the convergence of organized labor and coal mining in communities that were often marginalized based on ethnicity. A coal miner’s leather wallet from 1918 filled with Catholic memorabilia indicates the degree to which coal mining and religious affiliation were intertwined. Two figurines made from Welsh coal connected miners across an ocean due to a shared identity and profession. The miner’s award box from Peabody Energy showed how miners celebrated their own when they were able to retire, and the gifts they chose to commemorate this occasion. The pipe from a long gone church organ shows the importance of faith and community to immigrant miners. The Mother Jones dinner program shows the impact of a national figure who forever impacted unions and the coal mining industry across the united states.