Battles Along Route 66
As the sign reads:
Route 66 Coal Towns
The Battle of Virden
Miserable wages and working conditions in coal mines made conflict between miners and coal companies inevitable in the 1890s. The battle that erupted here immortalized Virden in the history of labor rights. On October 12, 1898, eight miners, four company guards, and one bystander were killed and over 35 wounded.
Before the Battle
After months of struggle, mine owners from Pennsylvania to Illinois agreed to a contract with the United Mine Workers Union. But the Chicago-Virden Coal Company, the largest in Illinois, refused to honor it. Local miners were locked out. Management recruited African-Americans from Alabama who were hoping to escape poverty.
Armed with pistols, hunting rifles, shotguns and some nothing at all, hundreds of miners poured into the village from surrounding towns, determined to stop the trains loaded with Alabamans from entering the mine.
The Battle
The Coal Company hired 75 guards, armed them with Winchesters, and stationed them behind a stockade and on the train carrying Alabama miner replacements. When the union miners swarmed the approaching train, guards opened fire igniting twenty minutes of carnage.
After the Battle
Illinois Governor John Riley Tanner was the first executive in any state to side with the workers union instead of the coal companies. Upon hearing of the battle, he sent troops to disarm Company guards and prevent further violence. The troops camped in this park.
Within weeks after the battle. the Company gave in to demands and paid workers at the higher union scale.
Battles Along Route 66
As the sign reads:
Route 66 Coal Towns
The Battle of Virden
Miserable wages and working conditions in coal mines made conflict between miners and coal companies inevitable in the 1890s. The battle that erupted here immortalized Virden in the history of labor rights. On October 12, 1898, eight miners, four company guards, and one bystander were killed and over 35 wounded.
Before the Battle
After months of struggle, mine owners from Pennsylvania to Illinois agreed to a contract with the United Mine Workers Union. But the Chicago-Virden Coal Company, the largest in Illinois, refused to honor it. Local miners were locked out. Management recruited African-Americans from Alabama who were hoping to escape poverty.
Armed with pistols, hunting rifles, shotguns and some nothing at all, hundreds of miners poured into the village from surrounding towns, determined to stop the trains loaded with Alabamans from entering the mine.
The Battle
The Coal Company hired 75 guards, armed them with Winchesters, and stationed them behind a stockade and on the train carrying Alabama miner replacements. When the union miners swarmed the approaching train, guards opened fire igniting twenty minutes of carnage.
After the Battle
Illinois Governor John Riley Tanner was the first executive in any state to side with the workers union instead of the coal companies. Upon hearing of the battle, he sent troops to disarm Company guards and prevent further violence. The troops camped in this park.
Within weeks after the battle. the Company gave in to demands and paid workers at the higher union scale.