Cardiff, Illinois
Cardiff is a ghost town in Livingston County, Illinois, United States.
Prior to the arrival of the mine and town of Cardiff, the area was known as Collopy's Corners.
After meeting resistance from many of the people in Campus, the coal company purchased land from Patrick Collopy in May 1899 for $7,660.
[6] Fred E. Ahern, who owned farmland adjacent to the mine site, was one of the first men to recognize the opportunity.
[7] The mine was built in the first half of 1899 and in June miners started blasting rock and removing clay from the surface.
Pierce was president of the company and Joseph M. Blee was secretary and assistant auditor.
Farmers lined up for a quarter mile in all four directions bringing in their grain to the elevator.
Miss Bronson was hired as the teacher and about 40 children began school in January 1900.
Brothers of Reddick started preaching and teaching Sunday School in the new schoolhouse.
Schlitz put up a second building in 1902 at the corner of Ahern Street and Wabash Avenue.
In 1904 Schlitz built a two-story building which was advertised as “one of the finest saloons between Chicago and St. Louis.” [15] As the mine developed into a big business, the village continued to grow.
Around midnight on Thursday, March 12, 1903, an explosion in the mine sent a huge blast of air that blew three miners against the shaft wall, killing them.
[18] On that same Sunday morning, a crew of six men were in the mine cleaning up debris from the explosion.
Company carpenter Allen Michaels was looking down the shaft when it explode and was killed.
[22] However, shortly after the devastating explosions the Cardiff Coal Co. announced that they would sink a new mine shaft nearby.
Work began in April 1903 and the first coal was brought up from the new mine on Sunday, June 7, 1903.
The town had two banks, two grain elevators, a soft-drink bottling plant, a candy factory and at least two dance halls.
The quality of coal had declined to where it no longer met the requirements of the railroad's steam engines.
Cardiff Coal Company's property was sold at a public auction on September 2, 1916.
