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…
This 1896 image shows the coal mining operation going on at Lost Creek, Iowa, located near Eddyville in Mahaska County. Lost Creek is the site of one of the deadliest coal mining explosions in history. On Friday, January 24, 1902, around noon, 67…
This is a picture of George H. Ramsey, Superintendent of the Carbonado coal mining operation back in 1896. Ramsey also was a developer in the field of coal mining during the time. Coal mining was a lucrative business to be involved with if an ample…
Few men have enjoyed more success in both the railroad and coal mining industries than H.W. McNeill. Born June 18, 1847, in Peoria, Illinois, Hobart W. McNeill studied at the University of Virginia until the school was closed by the Confederacy. …
Few men have enjoyed more success in both the railroad and coal mining inudstries than H.W. McNeill. Born June 18, 1847, in Peoria, Illinois, Hobart W. McNeill studied at the University of Virginia until the school was closed by the Confederacy. …
This is a photograph taken of the town square in Oskaloosa, Iowa, in 1868, following the Civil War. This view of the square comes from the northeast looking west.
Pictured here is the town square of Oskaloosa, Iowa as it appeared in the late 1800's. Note the number of wagons that have parked around the perimeter of the town square, as was common and highly encouraged, especially if the wagons had goods to…
