Remembering the Cherry Mine Fire of 1909

Another anniversary will soon be observed in the little village of Cherry, Ill. In 1909, a tragic fire in the St. Paul coal mine took the lives of hundreds of men and young boys.

Like so many local coal mines, it provided the main source of income for the majority of residents. The Cherry mine also provided a livelihood for miners from other towns in Bureau, Putnam and LaSalle counties. The Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul Railroad was the major consumer of the coal produced at the mine.

On Nov. 13, 1909, about 480 men and boys went to work at the mine, some working above ground and others descending on the mine’s two cages to depths of several hundred feet to reach the coal veins. It was a relatively safe mine with little likelihood of a gas explosion. Heavy timbers had been installed to prevent cave-ins. The mine had also been electrified for lighting, but the system shorted out only two weeks previously so they had to resort to kerosene torches and carbide lamps. Ironically, the electrical repairs for the lighting system were scheduled for this same day. There was no reason to believe this day would be out of the ordinary. But tragically, it would be so different that the events that transpired would be recorded in newspapers around the world.

There were 40 mules housed underground to pull the heavy mine carts. Water and hay were needed for the animals. Just after the noon hour, six bales of hay were sent down for the mules. The exact details of how the fire started were not learned for weeks afterwards during an official inquest. It was initially thought the fire started from the flames of a miner’s lamp or an overhead torch. In any case, in less than an hour the entire car was on fire and the flames were spreading.

Thousands of onlookers quickly gathered around the mine property, which had to be guarded by units of the Illinois National Guard to prevent violence. The details of the rescue attempts were well documented in the local papers. A few men survived even after being trapped for a week.

More unsettling was the tedious recovery of the bodies of those who could not be saved. Some of the hundreds of bodies remained underground through the summer of 1910.

The dead were buried in the Cherry Cemetery, some in mass graves. Others were buried in Ladd and surrounding cemeteries.

In 1911, a 14-foot granite memorial was erected in the Cherry Cemetery by the United Mine Workers.

The mine eventually reopened for a time but eventually closed during the Depression.

The miners who lost their lives were never forgotten by the residents of Cherry, where annual observances are held.

The events have been recorded in numerous books. In 2009, Illinois constructed a special exhibit in the Lincoln Library in Springfield to commemorate the centennial of the tragedy. A large portion of that exhibit has been saved and is now on exhibit in the LaSalle County Historical Museum in Utica. The museum is open Friday, Saturday and Sunday from noon to 4 p.m. The museum closes for the year on Nov. 12 but is scheduled to reopen next spring.

For those interested in learning more details about the tragedy, Ron Bluemer, noted local author and historian, will give a presentation in the Granville Public Library at 6 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 16.