Bridge going over the Skunk River in 1896. The Skunk River is a mid-size river in terms of both its width and distance. The Skunk River also consists of two branches: the North Skunk River and South Skunk River. The irony of the two branches is…
Like Mahaska County, many counties throughout Iowa have depended on their water supply from local rivers running within their community's vicinity. This photograph is an example of that. It also serves as an example of how long communities have…
This is a picture taken at Sam Smith Coal Mine back in 1895. The Sam Smith coal mine was located southwest of Oskaloosa College, which today is on the 1300 block of High Avenue West. Today, many buildings and facilities in Oskaloosa were once the…
This is a photograph of the Carbonado Coal Mine in 1896. Carbonado, like so many other communities in Mahaska County, virtually disappeared overnight when the coal mining industry dissipated in the county. Coal mining employees went elsewhere to…
This is a photograph of the Carbonado Company Store in 1896. Since Carbonado was a coal mining community, company stores like the one pictured here received almost all of its business from the men's families that were working in the mines. When the…
This is a photograph of the Muchakinock Coal Mine in 1896. Muchakinock was located a few miles south of Oskaloosa, located in Mahaska County, Iowa. Today, like many other communities in Mahaska County, there is nothing left in the once thriving…
This photograph illustrates the hilly terrain found in the southern part of Iowa. Coal mines would operate on and within these slopes. This is a photograph of a coal mine slope in Oskaloosa, Iowa, in 1896.
This photograph illustrates the hilly terrain found in the southern part of Iowa. Coal mines would operate on and within these slopes. This is a photogrpah of a coal mine slope in Oskaloosa, Iowa, in 1896.
This photograph gives an inside look of a coal mine in 1896, Oskaloosa, Iowa. Coal mines were unsafe and unhealthy places to work. Many men developed a disease known as the black lung, which ultimately led to a coal miner's death.
This 1896 image shows what the coal mining operation looked like in Colon, Iowa. Colon, located south of Oskaloosa in Mahaska County, was another town that went from a thriving community to nonexistence in a matter of a few years. Today, the only…
