Madison Coal Corporation

This building served as the central office of the Madison Coal Corporation's mining operations in Illinois. The company owned mines in Edwardsville, Mount Olive, Divernon, and Herrin, and the office stood less than one mile west of the large Mine #2 with the Illinois Central Railroad virtually at its front door. Mining engineers and draftsmen worked here maintaining up-to-date records and blueprints of the mined-out areas of each mine, and payroll bookkeeping was also handled here, including tracking coal delivered to miners' homes and rent advances on payroll. Books of coupons redeemable at the company store on Main Street were deducted from miners' paychecks, while miners were always paid in cash at the Mine Rescue Station nearby. William E. Guy, president of the Madison Coal Corporation, had a background as a geologist, engineer, manufacturer, and railroad promoter. He earned bachelor and master degrees from Princeton University and then attended Freiburg School of Mines in Germany for four years, earning a Masters of Engineering degree. In 1891, he organized and built both the Madison Coal Corporation and the St. Louis, Peoria and Northern Railway, which was sold in 1899 to the Illinois Central Railway. Guy and his companies donated most of the land for churches, parks, and schools in the new village, and prizes for the most beautifully kept flower and vegetable gardens helped earn him and his companies a reputation as a good outfit to work for.

Glen Carbon, Illinois · United States