In 1864, farmer Thomas Byron dug a well and struck coal, and the next year Scottish miner James Braidwood sank the first shaft. Towns such as Braidwood, Coal City, Carbon Hill, Diamond, and Godley sprang up, becoming home to immigrants who labored in the perpetual darkness of the mines. In Godley, many worked at the K Mine, M Mine, and the Shotz, Torino, and Rixson mines. The United Mine Workers Union formed in 1890 to demand better pay and working conditions, and miners and coal companies often clashed in strikes and bloody conflicts. Coal miners and their young sons working 100 feet underground faced constant danger, and at Diamond Mine, four miles from here, snowmelt in February 1883 flooded the mine, killing 74 men and boys within minutes. Most Braidwood mines closed by 1900, while other local mines operated through World War I; strip mining began in 1928 and ended by 1974, and the area's coal fueled furnaces in businesses and homes and powered locomotives.