Alix Coal Mining History
Replies: 7
Alix Coal Mining History
| GeraldPrimm (View posts) | Posted: 19 Sep 2007 1:59AM GMT |
Classification: Query
Jan Owens of Greenwood, AR and I have been communicating about coal mining in Franklin County. She suggested I post this information, which I shared with her.
My boyhood home was in Alix, and located in the NE 1/4 of SE 1/4, Sect. 23, Township 9 North, Range 26 West. The coal mine map you sent me a link to, Blue Hills Mining, is located in the NE 1/4 of NW 1/4, Section 31, Township 9 North, Range 25 West.
Only 1/2 of Range 26 West, Township 9 North, is in Franklin County, the rest being east in Johnson County. Since the Blue Hills mine (and also Rafter Mine, Hill Mine, and Douglas Mine) (all shown on same map) are in Range 25 West, Township 9 North, that means all of those mines were located just east of Alix, (Franklin Countyy) in Western Johnson County. Going by local towns and
communities, they would appear to have been located southwest of Coal Hill, and east of a small community locally called Norton Town.
(It seems that I've read somewhere that the Rafter Mine was first owned by Abe Stiewel and his brother, and perhaps just first called the Stiewel Mine.
The Stiewel Brothers also had a mine at Spadra, called the Eureka Mine. Abe Stiewel opened the first sizable coal operation in the Coal Hill - Western Johnson County area, (east of Alix) back in around 1877. The Stiewel brother's pit boss at the Eureka Mine, in Spadra, was ambushed, shot and killed during a strike, in 1893.
My dad, James (Jim) Primm, born 1897, started working in the coal mines in and near Alix at age 14. My dad joined the Arkansas Militia (now National Guard) at 16 (lied
about his age). By 19, he joined the army and left Alix. During World War I, my father's lungs were seriously injured with Phosgene poison gas. After the war, he twice attempted to return to mining, but was unable to do it and
would "break down" and have to be sent by the army to a public health service hospital (there were no V. A. Hospitals at that time). He lived in Alix the rest of his life, though, until he died in 1971. His father before him had taken up coal mining, but died in an epidemic at age 28. His step-grandfather, James Monroe (Uncle Jim) Primm, who raised him, mined for many years. My maternal grandfather, Ervin A. Burchfield, had been an underground miner in Birmingham, AL, but after being injured in a rock fall, in 1906, (had surgery and a small plate of silver put in his skull) he was never allowed to work underground again. He moved from there to the Denning, AR area, though, and worked top side at Western Coal and Mining No. 2, in Denning, for about 10-years.
There were a few underground mines still operating in the Alix and Denning area when i was a kid. Jim Lewis had a mine just west of the Johnson County Line, in Southeast Alix. It was called the Soupbone. Later, he sold it to four brothers named Kranc, who renamed it the Big Four. It closed in around 1947. Western No. 2, at Denning, was the longest running mine in the area, and closed somewhere around 1949 - 51, as I recall. There was one smaller mine, located southeast of Denning, and west of Alix. I don't recall what they called it. In addition to Western Coal and Mining, out of St. Louis, several mines around
Alix were owned by local people with names like Dotson, Weishaupt, Melton, Lewis, and then--for a short time--Kranc. There were other smaller operations, from time to time. By the late 1930's and 1940's, when I was born and
growing up, all of our underground mines were union mines. The United Mine Workers of America Hall at Alix was originally a two story building, but a storm destroyed the upper story and it was re-roofed as a one story building. In the 1940's, the union local still had meetings there, but it was also used on Sundays and Thursday nights as a church, by the Alix Assembly of God. I can recall a lot of people just calling it "The Church at the Hall" or "The Hall Church." After mining ended in Alix, and the local disbanded, the union hall became the full-time home of the Alix Aseembly of God Church, and the Assembly still meets there to this day. Although it was before my time, in the heyday of Alix mining, there were a number of camps operated by Western Coal and Mining Company, and each spring itinerant miners would arrive, often on freighcars, and live in the mining camps. The camps were known by the number of the mine to which they were attached: No. 1 camp, and so forth. A lot of the itinerant miners, as well as their families, were rough people who lived crudely and were bad about drinking alcohol and fighting. These were a strong contrast to the year around miners, who were fine citizens, kept their modest homes up well, raised nice gardens, and usually also farmed a little as a sideline.
There was a mining operation at Philpot Valley, north of Altus, that was non-union. The non-union men came down to Altus one Saturday, in trucks, and them and the Altus area union men had a big fight in the city park.
Quite a bit of interesting history of the mining in Western Arkansas. I find it quite interesting. Unfortunately, I waited too late to ask questions
and record stories, so my information is limited.
While he was alive, I failed to record any of the stories my dad told me, but i know he first began mining, working with his step-grandfather, who'd raised him, as a team. They were paid 50-cents per car load and, worked together
as a team, loading and firing their own shots, breaking, loading, and doing all the work. Together they could blast out, dig, and load out four cars of coal a day and earn $2. My dad turned all but about a quarter a day of his part of the earnings over to his step-grandfather.
While I don't remember the mines my dad and his step-grandfather worked in, I know the first one was a slope mine. It may have been The Packet Slope, but I'm not sure. While talking to an older Alix man, John Workman,about 15-years ago, he told me that my dad worked awhile at the Rafter Mine (which, according to the
map) adjoins Blue Hills, and was just a short distance east of Alix, in western Johnson County. The last mining in the area where Blue Hills, Rafter, etc. were located was strip mining of the coal closer to the surface. Some of that stripping also occurred in the extreme eastern part of Franklin County, in Alix, but close to the Johnson County line. That strip mining occurred in the late 1940's, around 1947-49. It seems I remember hearing of a couple of guys doing a little underground mining a little later than
that, in a very small "dog hole'operation, just across the Franklin County border, in Johnson Countyy. I sure wish I'd had the interest in this, when I was young, that I do now. We
had old guys around Alix and Coal Hill who could have given me every detail. A little of the coal mining history of western Johnson and Eastern Franklin
counties was recorded by a retired teacher, native of Coal Hill, Mary Maude Gallagher. I'm not sure whether she's still living or not. If anyone reading this has any more details on the mines or mining in Alix or nearby Denning, I'd love to hear from them.
Gerald Primm (now of Mulberry, but raised in Alix)
My boyhood home was in Alix, and located in the NE 1/4 of SE 1/4, Sect. 23, Township 9 North, Range 26 West. The coal mine map you sent me a link to, Blue Hills Mining, is located in the NE 1/4 of NW 1/4, Section 31, Township 9 North, Range 25 West.
Only 1/2 of Range 26 West, Township 9 North, is in Franklin County, the rest being east in Johnson County. Since the Blue Hills mine (and also Rafter Mine, Hill Mine, and Douglas Mine) (all shown on same map) are in Range 25 West, Township 9 North, that means all of those mines were located just east of Alix, (Franklin Countyy) in Western Johnson County. Going by local towns and
communities, they would appear to have been located southwest of Coal Hill, and east of a small community locally called Norton Town.
(It seems that I've read somewhere that the Rafter Mine was first owned by Abe Stiewel and his brother, and perhaps just first called the Stiewel Mine.
The Stiewel Brothers also had a mine at Spadra, called the Eureka Mine. Abe Stiewel opened the first sizable coal operation in the Coal Hill - Western Johnson County area, (east of Alix) back in around 1877. The Stiewel brother's pit boss at the Eureka Mine, in Spadra, was ambushed, shot and killed during a strike, in 1893.
My dad, James (Jim) Primm, born 1897, started working in the coal mines in and near Alix at age 14. My dad joined the Arkansas Militia (now National Guard) at 16 (lied
about his age). By 19, he joined the army and left Alix. During World War I, my father's lungs were seriously injured with Phosgene poison gas. After the war, he twice attempted to return to mining, but was unable to do it and
would "break down" and have to be sent by the army to a public health service hospital (there were no V. A. Hospitals at that time). He lived in Alix the rest of his life, though, until he died in 1971. His father before him had taken up coal mining, but died in an epidemic at age 28. His step-grandfather, James Monroe (Uncle Jim) Primm, who raised him, mined for many years. My maternal grandfather, Ervin A. Burchfield, had been an underground miner in Birmingham, AL, but after being injured in a rock fall, in 1906, (had surgery and a small plate of silver put in his skull) he was never allowed to work underground again. He moved from there to the Denning, AR area, though, and worked top side at Western Coal and Mining No. 2, in Denning, for about 10-years.
There were a few underground mines still operating in the Alix and Denning area when i was a kid. Jim Lewis had a mine just west of the Johnson County Line, in Southeast Alix. It was called the Soupbone. Later, he sold it to four brothers named Kranc, who renamed it the Big Four. It closed in around 1947. Western No. 2, at Denning, was the longest running mine in the area, and closed somewhere around 1949 - 51, as I recall. There was one smaller mine, located southeast of Denning, and west of Alix. I don't recall what they called it. In addition to Western Coal and Mining, out of St. Louis, several mines around
Alix were owned by local people with names like Dotson, Weishaupt, Melton, Lewis, and then--for a short time--Kranc. There were other smaller operations, from time to time. By the late 1930's and 1940's, when I was born and
growing up, all of our underground mines were union mines. The United Mine Workers of America Hall at Alix was originally a two story building, but a storm destroyed the upper story and it was re-roofed as a one story building. In the 1940's, the union local still had meetings there, but it was also used on Sundays and Thursday nights as a church, by the Alix Assembly of God. I can recall a lot of people just calling it "The Church at the Hall" or "The Hall Church." After mining ended in Alix, and the local disbanded, the union hall became the full-time home of the Alix Aseembly of God Church, and the Assembly still meets there to this day. Although it was before my time, in the heyday of Alix mining, there were a number of camps operated by Western Coal and Mining Company, and each spring itinerant miners would arrive, often on freighcars, and live in the mining camps. The camps were known by the number of the mine to which they were attached: No. 1 camp, and so forth. A lot of the itinerant miners, as well as their families, were rough people who lived crudely and were bad about drinking alcohol and fighting. These were a strong contrast to the year around miners, who were fine citizens, kept their modest homes up well, raised nice gardens, and usually also farmed a little as a sideline.
There was a mining operation at Philpot Valley, north of Altus, that was non-union. The non-union men came down to Altus one Saturday, in trucks, and them and the Altus area union men had a big fight in the city park.
Quite a bit of interesting history of the mining in Western Arkansas. I find it quite interesting. Unfortunately, I waited too late to ask questions
and record stories, so my information is limited.
While he was alive, I failed to record any of the stories my dad told me, but i know he first began mining, working with his step-grandfather, who'd raised him, as a team. They were paid 50-cents per car load and, worked together
as a team, loading and firing their own shots, breaking, loading, and doing all the work. Together they could blast out, dig, and load out four cars of coal a day and earn $2. My dad turned all but about a quarter a day of his part of the earnings over to his step-grandfather.
While I don't remember the mines my dad and his step-grandfather worked in, I know the first one was a slope mine. It may have been The Packet Slope, but I'm not sure. While talking to an older Alix man, John Workman,about 15-years ago, he told me that my dad worked awhile at the Rafter Mine (which, according to the
map) adjoins Blue Hills, and was just a short distance east of Alix, in western Johnson County. The last mining in the area where Blue Hills, Rafter, etc. were located was strip mining of the coal closer to the surface. Some of that stripping also occurred in the extreme eastern part of Franklin County, in Alix, but close to the Johnson County line. That strip mining occurred in the late 1940's, around 1947-49. It seems I remember hearing of a couple of guys doing a little underground mining a little later than
that, in a very small "dog hole'operation, just across the Franklin County border, in Johnson Countyy. I sure wish I'd had the interest in this, when I was young, that I do now. We
had old guys around Alix and Coal Hill who could have given me every detail. A little of the coal mining history of western Johnson and Eastern Franklin
counties was recorded by a retired teacher, native of Coal Hill, Mary Maude Gallagher. I'm not sure whether she's still living or not. If anyone reading this has any more details on the mines or mining in Alix or nearby Denning, I'd love to hear from them.
Gerald Primm (now of Mulberry, but raised in Alix)