1963 Map of Coal City

About this map

The Wabash and Erie Canal cuts a distinctive horizontal path across this landscape, tracing the history of nineteenth-century transportation through the borders of Clay, Owen, and Greene counties. While the canal was long out of service by the mid-twentieth century, its presence remains a primary geographic marker alongside the meandering Eel River. The settlement of Coal City serves as a local hub, surrounded by a terrain shaped by active strip mines and industrial activity, evidenced by the numerous mines and the Pumping Sta located near the northern border.