Tag: coal
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Mazon Monday #311: Strip mining begins in Braidwood on May 23, 1928
Yesterday marked opening day for fossil collecting at the IDNR Mazonia–Braidwood State Fish and Wildlife Area. I hope you were able to make it out… or are planning a trip soon. This is prime season for collecting at Pit 11, the name many collectors still use for Mazonia–Braidwood.
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Mazon Monday #302: The Wreck of the 5560
This is Mazon Monday post #302. What’s your favorite Mazon Creek fossil? Tell us at email:esconi.info@gmail.com. The Marion Power Shovel Company was an American company that designed, manufactured, and built steam shovels, power shovels, blast hole drills, excavators, and dragline excavators. The company was headquartered in Marion, Ohio and operated from 1884 to 1997, when it…
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Mazon Monday #297: Pit 11 Coal Mining Artifact
This is Mazon Monday post #297. What’s your favorite Mazon Creek fossil? Tell us at email:esconi.info@gmail.com. We often focus on the beautiful fossils found in the Mazon Creek deposit, but sometimes overlook the rich history that surrounds them. Coal mining played a central role in shaping the Wilmington, Braidwood, and Coal City area, from the deep…
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Throwback Thursday #282: Field Museum Postcard
I found this old Field Museum postcard at the recent ESCONI Rock Swap. It’s a photo of the coal forest in the Evolving Planet exhibit. This exhibit was originally in the Ernest R. Graham Hall in the Field Museum. The postcard is from the middle 20th century.
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ESCONI Field Trip to Danville Shale Pile Fossils – Saturday, September 27th, 2025
Danville Field Trip Rules for Saturday, September 27th, 2025 An ESCONI field trip to the Danville IL Shale Pile for Pennsylvanian fossils is scheduled for Saturday September 27, 2025 starting at 10 AM. This is on private property and there is an attendance limit of 25 people. The gate will be secured once we are…
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Throwback Thursday #266: Braidwood Area Historical Society III
This is Throwback Thursday #266. In these, we look back into the past at ESCONI specifically and Earth Science in general. If you have any contributions, (science, pictures, stories, etc …), please send them to esconi.info@gmail.com. Thanks! email:esconi.info@gmail.com. We visited the Braidwood Historical Society last weekend to drop of some more chunks of coal. They…
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Throwback Thursday #214: Braidwood Area Historical Society Revisited
This is Throwback Thursday #214. In these, we look back into the past at ESCONI specifically and Earth Science in general. If you have any contributions, (science, pictures, stories, etc …), please send them to esconi.info@gmail.com. Thanks! Last October, we visited the Braidwood Area Historical Society. There was a report in Throwback Thursday #183. They…
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Throwback Thursday #193: Poem “Coal Age”
This is Throwback Thursday #193. In these, we look back into the past at ESCONI specifically and Earth Science in general. If you have any contributions, (science, pictures, stories, etc …), please send them to esconi.info@gmail.com. Thanks! Today, we step back to a little poem called “Coal Age”, which appeared in the February 1950 edition…
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Throwback Thursday #190: Carbon Hill School Museum
This is Throwback Thursday #190. In these, we look back into the past at ESCONI specifically and Earth Science in general. If you have any contributions, (science, pictures, stories, etc …), please send them to esconi.info@gmail.com. Thanks! We recently stopped by the Carbon Hill School Museum in Carbon Hill, IL. Michele Micetich, the curator, was…
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Throwback Thursday #150: History of Coal City and Surrounding Areas
This is Throwback Thursday #150. In these, we look back into the past at ESCONI specifically and Earth Science in general. If you have any contributions, (science, pictures, stories, etc …), please send them to esconi.info@gmail.com. Thanks! On Tuesday, February 28th, 2023, local historian Michele Micetich is speaking at the Coal City Library about the…
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Throwback Thursday #107: G-Shaft Candy
This is Throwback Thursday #107. In these, we look back into the past at ESCONI specifically and Earth Science in general. If you have any contributions, (science, pictures, stories, etc …), please send them to esconi.info@gmail.com. Thanks! If you grew up anywhere in the area, you may remember G-Shaft Candy. It’s a hard candy, brown…
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Fossil Friday #28: Petosky Stones
This is the “Fossil Friday” post #28. Expect this to be a somewhat regular feature of the website. We will post any fossil pictures you send in to esconi.info@gmail.com. Please include a short description or story. Check the #FossilFriday Twitter hash tag for contributions from around the world! For Fossil Friday this week, we are…
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Mazon Monday #30: The Diamond Mine Disaster At Braidwood
This is Mazon Monday post #30. What’s your favorite Mazon Creek fossil? Tell us at email:esconi.info@gmail.com. This week’s Mazon Monday isn’t about fossils… we are recalling a coal mine disaster in Diamond, IL on February 16th, 1883. ESCONI had a great lecture about this event back in June 2019 by Michele Micetich, of the Carbon Hill…
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Throwback Thursday #28: Photos of Braidwood Coal Mining 1960
This is Throwback Thursday #28. In these, we look back into the past at ESCONI specifically and Earth Science in general. If you have any contributions, (science, pictures, stories, etc …), please send them to esconi.info@gmail.com. Thanks! Here are a few photos of the Braidwood coal mines in 1960. Some very large drag lines and…
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Throwback Thursday #24: Coal Mining History Around Coal City
This is Throwback Thursday #24. In these, we look back into the past at ESCONI specifically and Earth Science in general. If you have any contributions, (science, pictures, stories, etc …), please send them to esconi.info@gmail.com. Thanks! Over on the Coal City website, there’s a page on the history of Coal City. In the 1850’s,…
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Throwback Thursday #23: History of Coal Mining in Illinois
This is Throwback Thursday #23. In these, we look back into the past at ESCONI specifically and Earth Science in general. If you have any contributions, (science, pictures, stories, etc …), please send them to esconi.info@gmail.com. Thanks! Waynes World of History and Genealogy has a great series of pages on the history of coal mining…
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Ancient ‘coal dragon’ is now the oldest parareptile ever found
CBC has a story about an interesting new species of ancient parareptile. Named Carbonodraco lundi, this animal lived about 306 million years ago in what is now Linton, Ohio. This is the same time period as the famous fossils from Illinois’ Mazon Creek biota. The details were recently published in the journal Royal Society Open…
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The Complete Story of the November 13, 1909 Cherry, Illinois Mine Disaster that killed 259 men
There’s an interesting page about the Cherry Mine Disaster over on “Digital Reseach Library of Illinois History Journal”. It has a little bit of everything, including many pictures. It was posted a few years ago on the 108th anniversary of the event. We just passed the 110th back on November 13th. The whole event is…
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Palaeocast Episode 86: Coal
There’s a new Palaeocast podcast, episode 86. It is called Coal. It discusses the origin and composition of Coal. The Carboniferous Period “coal bearing” is named for the sheer amount of coal produced during that time period. Current theories are discussed as to why this happened. For this interview, we asked Standford University’s Prof. Kevin…
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ESCONI General Meeting June 9th, 2017: “Coal Swamps, Coral Reefs, and Continental Glaciers: A Look at Prairie-State Geology”, by Ray Wiggers
The program at the June 9, 2017 ESCONI General Meeting is titled “Coal Swamps, Coral Reefs,and Continental Glaciers: A Look at Prairie-State Geology”, by Ray Wiggers. Ray is the author of five books including “Geology Underfoot in Illinois”. His resume includes jobs at the Illinois EPA, Vermont Public Radio, Illinois State Museum and National Park…
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18th Annual Coal Education Conference to be held June 16-19, 2015
The annual Illinois Coal Education Conference will be held from June 16-19, 2015. The location will be the Rend Lake Resort and Conference Center in Wayne Fitzgerrell State Park. Participants can earn 2 graduate credit hours through Illinois State University, in Normal, IL. The deadline for registration is April 13, 2015. Each year educators from…
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Illinois Coal Education Conference June 17-20, 2014
Teachers are invited to southern Illinois for an exciting syummer conference exploring the Illinois coal industry. Conference dates are June 17th – 20th, 2014. There is no conference fee. Lodging and meals will be provided at no cost to the participants. …. more information is availabe here: http://www.illinois.gov/dceo/Bureaus/Coal/Pages/Education.aspx Deadline for application is April 14, 2014.
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Good Deal for Teachers: 14th Coal Conference June 14-17, 2011
Joe Kubal announced at Friday’s General Meeting – Teachers/educators… consider attending the 14th annual Illinois Coal Education Conference. June 14-17 at Rend Lake, IL. From the brochure: “… there is no conference fee. Lodging and meals will be provided at no cost to the participants…. This four-day training will consist of lectures, tours and hands-on…
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Researcher uncovers oldest amber ever recorded: The Mystery of Illinois Amber
Via NYTimes: Hat tip: Mark White
