Coal mining has happened in Christian County Illinois beginning in the late 1800’s and is accompanied by a rich and varied history which ranges from outright violence to extreme benevolence and all points in between. Many people have written about it but two stand out. One is Carl Oblinger who wrote “Divided Kingdom” which treats the coal mine wars of the 1930’s in Taylorville and Christian County Illinois. This Doctoral Thesis is based on a compilation of interviews of surviving miners and spouses pointing up the struggle between the United Mine Workers and the Progressive Mine Workers of America to represent the miners in this area. Later yet, a history teacher, Kevin Corley, mined the rich archives of the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum to create a fictional piece portraying the lives of mining families during those turbulent times entitled, “16 Tons”. Kevin Corley will speak to the Friends of the Library Thursday, April 17, 2014 beginning at 7:00 PM. This lecture is free and open to the public and refreshments will be provided. This writer and his wife were born and reared in Taylorville, IL and have seen many years of people trying to sweep this era under the rug and keep it out of sight. Martial Law was invoked and the Illinois National Guard took up residence to control violence. I feel that when you have lemons you should make lemonade and would like to see recurring reenactments of some of the events which took place on our National Registry Historic Square. We hope your “Historic Bug” bites you and you plan to attend this and other such events at the Taylorville Public Library.
Market Street Inn Bed & Breakfast
As luck would have it, Thursday, April 12, 2014 is the first Pork Chop Dinner of the season by Taylorville Main Street. This event is held on the South Side of the National Historic Registry Taylorville Square. The pork chop is massive and is accompanied with sides and is charcoal grilled onsite next to the drive through lane. If you are a guest at our inn we invite you to pick up your dinner about 5 PM and consume it in our dining room and then go to the Coal Mining presentation.