|
 An
Illinois Historic American Engineering Record
documentation package was prepared for the
St. Paul Coal Company Mine No. 2, Cherry Mine Facility. The Cherry
Mine Fan House has been determined eligible for listing on the National
Register of Historic Places under Criterion A (social history) for its
role in the early twentieth century Cherry Mine disaster. The Cherry Mine has
the notoriety of being the scene of Illinois’ worst mining disaster--a fire on
November 13, 1909 that claimed the lives of 259 men. It was due, in part, to
the horrendous disaster that struck this mine that both federal and state
legislation was eventually enacted to protect miners and other industrial
workers. Physical documentation of the fan house was the focus of this
project. Although its integrity has been compromised, this structure is a
tangible link to that historic event. |
