This is the fascinating story of the lost coal mining town of Cardiff, Illinois. After coal was discovered in 1899, a town sprung up overnight at the mine site. Within a few years, Cardiff had 2,500 people, two banks, two grain elevators, a school, a church, a bottling plant, a ball field with a large grandstand, two blacksmith shops, numerous stores of all kinds, two dance halls and two dozen saloons. It had an
automobile dealership at the dawn of the automobile age. There were a few murders. A mine explosion killed nine men in 1903. People thought that was the end of Cardiff, but a new mine shaft was sunk and the town was bigger than ever. A total of 18 men died in the mines over the years. The high quality of coal ran out and the Wabash Railroad stopped buying Cardiff coal. The mine closed in 1912. Within a few years, the houses and stores were dismantled and only a couple dozen residents were left. The boom lasted only 13 years, but they were rollicking years. Large size book, hardcover, 316 pages. The book also has history from the village of Campus, the mining disasters at Cherry and Diamond, Clarke City, Tracy and Torino, and histories of coal towns Braidwood, Braceville, Carbon Hill, Coal City, Essex
and South Wilmington.