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1953 Map of Coal City

Name: 1953 Topographic Map of Coal City
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1955
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1955

About this map

Strip mines and numerous mine dumps dominate this mid-century landscape in Grundy County, where the industrial extraction of coal reshaped the terrain between the Mazon River and the Kankakee River. The settlement pattern follows the intensive mining operations, with the towns of Coal City, Carbon Hill, Eileen, and Diamond clustered along the tracks of the Gulf Mobile and Ohio and the Atchison Topeka and Santa Fe railroads.

Evidence of rural community life persists amidst the industrial activity, marked by the Heiderman and Short cemeteries and several local schoolhouses like Pine Bluff and Sulphur Springs. To the north, the Illinois River provides a natural boundary, while the Goose Lake area shows the infrastructure of the Goose Lake Pumping Station. The network of Claypool Ditch and Johnny Run indicates a complex drainage system necessitated by both natural topography and extensive land alteration from surface mining.