The Washington herald., 1920-03-27
BUSTLING CITY
NOW DESERTED
Joins Ranks Of
Illinois Towns That
Shrank In Size.

glories and of disappointed hopes,
whose requiem is chanted by the
rustling corn of the fields that once
marked their site?
This quaint coal mining town Of
Bureau County, at one time one OF
the flourishing municipalities OF
| Northern Illinois. promises soon to
be but a memory. 1t promises to
share the fate of Cardiff. Coal City.
Braidwood. Braceville, Carbon Hill,
Cherry and other places where the
! mining of coal brought prosperity
and thousands of Inhabitants.
Fofty years ago when coal was
first discovered in Will, Grundy,
Livingston, La Sale and Bureau
counties, miners fiocked there from
all over the country. There was al
most as much excitement as during
the days of 80 in California. Coal
operators paid high prices for land
and, coal rights and sunk number
less shafts.
The borings and underground ex-
cavation honeycombed the earth
over hundreds of square miles. Coal
of a superior quality was raised,
and the promoters saw fortune In
sight.
Mines FIourished Mt Start.
For several decades the mines
fourished and the cities grew pro-
portionately. Those which attract
ed other industries like La Sale.
Streator. Kankakee, Princeton. and
Ottawa, continued to grow. Those
! which depended upon coal 'rir'U"-
alone. were doomed. To the intense
/ disappointment of the mine owners.
| as we'll as the employees and mer-
chants who depended upon the pat
| ronage OF the latter for a living,
the mines began to fail.
The veins became thin and tie
! black diamonds exhausted. The
! strata of fuel that promised so
much, proved to be of limited extent.
As the supply became exhausted and
! the expense of hoisting became
greater than the profit to be derived
| the mines were closed one after an
other, until now but few remain in
Northern Illinois.
The seat of the coal mining in
dustry has shifted to the southern
| tier of coupties. Lincoln, Peoria
and Decatur now mark the northern
boundary of the coal district, while
1t extends as far south as Franklin
and Williamson counties. The CEN
ter of the district is now in Macou-
pin County, which promises to lead
all in the State in the tonnage raised
during 1920.
Population shrinks Rapidly.
In the eighties, Braidwood and
| Braceville were regarded as two Of
the most prosperous cities of Illinois.
Each contained 10000 inhabitants
In 1890, when the mines began TO
| fail, the population of Braidwood
dropped to 5000. In 1900 there were
5000 and the census of 1910 gave
Tess than 1000. Braceville declined
still more rapidly, until at the pres
ent time there are less than 1000.
SeatonviHe has declined even more
rapidly and the story is one of pa
| thos for all of the unfortunates who
invested their savings in homes. Lo-
Gated in the valley OF the Illinois
River, one of the most picturesque
districts OF the StaTe. Snatonvi. lie
would undoubtedly have prospered
had the coal strata held out. With
out an abundant water supply ther.
was nothing to attract other indus
tries. and there was nothing for 1t
to do but die.
Bank Also Abandoned.
The bank closed its doors a wear
ago. The postoffice was abandoned
and the few remaining inhabitants
served by the rural route carriers,
the patient and ever hopeful pub
Usher of the weekly newspaper.
loaded his press and type into. a box
car and departed for more inviting
fields, the merchants in most in
stances followed his example, and
now the requiem will doubtless soon
be- sung. I
All over Illinois are the sites of
cities Just missed by the railroads.
Clarksville was one of the future
greats" during the era of the pio-
neer. The railroads were laid out
to the east and west of Ciarksville
ten to twenty miles away and this
proved q death blow.
Farmers of the present genera
tion unwittingly plow the soil that
once was churned by. the hoofs of
horses and the feet of citizens. There
Is nothing left to mark the site of
-bellum glories or of the days
when Illinois was young. The pro-
cess OF extinction is the same in all
cases.