Photo 2-TFO-1

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Yes I do have a connection as my family has owned this property since 1994. Property is located at US 41 and County Road 1000 South in Kingman Indiana. This was once a working coal mine owned by the Morgan Coal Company out of Indianapolis. The tall building in the picture was the coal tipple. The coal would be stored in what looks like 3 elevated silos. Trucks would then drive under the silos and coal would be dispensed to either awaiting rail cars in Yeddo or home delivery. Since the picture was taken, all the buildings have been torn down on the property thanks to a coal mine reclamation act grant. The area with the buildings is now mostly field, but the property surrounding the lakes have grown up into forest.

We are so glad to see this photo. Our dad, Glenn (Speed) Duncan, was superintendent there from 1939 until he died in 1955. Gerald Jones took over his job and remained there until the mine closed about 1959.

My Dad, Russell Nixon worked at this mine as a oiler in the pit area on the dragline that removed the dirt and rock off the vain of coal, He also ran a coal popper which drilled a line of holes in the vain of coal, then placed black powder in the holes and set off the powder. This would break the coal into smaller pieces so it could be loaded for hauling to the tipple. He also worked as a welder in or near the shop, the large flat building in the lower right of the picture. The small building in the lower left of picture was the scale house where the customers weighed their trucks in then loaded and weighed out. Just over the top of the shop building you will see some walls where the hopper and conveyor sat, where the coal was dumped when hauled from the pits. The coal was hoisted up the conveyor into the tipple and on a screen (shaker) for grading into size and into the proper bin. This picture was quite a few years after the closing of the mine. As kid (5-8 year old) I spent a lot time there with Speed, Gerald, Ray Barnard, and Bud Rutledge, This was back in the early 1940's I lived in Yeddo at this time and the coal being dumped into coal cars at the rail siding would keep me awake at night. When they would started a new car the coal would drop a long ways down into the steel car with a thundering sound. The old CA&S railroad steam engine sure had an scary sound when came to pick up the filled coal cars. I sometimes had to go get in bed with my Mom (Thelma Nixon) when they blew that whistle! Oh, by the way, there was six silos. The two nearest the conveyor was for bugdust. the stocker coal went into the next, Egg coal into the next and lump into the last. Good ole days Thanks for sharing the picture.

Thank you all for sharing the history of this photo. There is a pin on the map showing the location of this photo, can anyone confirm that this is correct?

Love hearing the history from you all on the property! I have been trying to find pictures of it as a working mine, but it has been difficult to find any on the internet.

Nathan, I have corrected the pin location on the map. The other pin had the old mine in Parke County and we sit in Fountain County.

I moved the tag to the proper location

All the blue on this map are open pits filled with water making small lakes. these pits are east of the tipple along county road 1000S, most are on the north side. One large pit is about 3/4 mile east on the south side of road.

My Dad, Dude Redenbaugh, worked here for about 10 years. Speed Duncan was his boss. We lived just west of the mine. At that time it was the first house on the north side, all gone now.

I used to go fishing here a long time ago and I was told there are catfish sitting on the bottom bigger than a man, they won't let you fish there anymore and the grass has grown wild to keep people out, interesting.

This coal mine, this picture, was on the Ratcliff farm, Hwy US 41. It was right next door to the house where I was raised. I heard the coal dropping into the trucks every day, the tnt going off, etc. I can identify every building in these pictures. Speed Duncan's children were some of my best friends.

Morgan Const Co. bought the company my Dad, (William F. Dykes) was working for in Okeechobee,Fl. They sent the equipment to Brazil Ind. to start a coal mine arriving in late 1939. Morgan Coal Co. had bought land near Kingman In.1939 Dad moved to Kingman, In 1940. He was hired to be the lead dragline operator, "Bill" Dykes had the honor of being the first operator to start digging coal at the the Kingman Mine._
He stated the surface depth to the vein of coal was 70 to 90 feet. The shale on top of the coal was 2 to 4 feet and the coal vein was 2 to 8 feet. Morgan Coal ran out of coal in the area, on March 15, 1960, "Bill' Dykes again had the honor of lowering the boom on the largest dragline in the area at this time. Morgan Coal Co. moved their operation to Colorado.

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Do you have a connection to this photograph? Maybe you grew up here or know someone who did? What has changed in the 51 years since this photo was taken? Tell us!