Coal Mines in Iowa Download

Iowa Coal Mines compiles together information about past mining that was held by the State of Iowa including scanned copies of the mine maps and details about individual mines. The primary intent is to provide information to evaluate potential impacts to the land surface from the historic coal mines, although the data may also be useful for historical and scientific research. Coal was mined in Iowa beginning in the 1840's and ending in 1994. The mines operated in the southern and central areas of the state using both surface and underground methods. Based on available records, it is estimated that over 6,000 individual mines may have operated in Iowa during the state’s 150 year mining history. Approximately 3,000 of these mines can be located to at least one section with about half of those known as points only. The remaining mines leave some information about the area that they operated in. Starting about 1880, the Office of State Mine Inspectors was established to regulate the mining industry to help insure the miners’ safety. One of the requirements enacted at that time was that the mines employing more than four miners would submit detailed mine maps to the State Mine Inspectors every other year. Many of the mines that were exempt from this requirement were very small, local mines that operated to supply a few households. A large number of these mines may not be represented in this database.