By Tom Emery

Coal mining has been a key component of the Illinois economy for over two hundred years. Sadly, many men have lost their lives in the process.

The state has endured some of the worst mining disasters in American history, rocking small towns that were dependent on the coal economy and leaving scores of women and children destitute. In an era when safety was not emphasized, coal mining was an even more dangerous job, and hundreds of men paid the price in lives and disabling injuries.

Coal was first mined in Illinois in 1810, and production increased with each passing decade. By...