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Working Class Rhetoric: An Exploration of The Mining Rhetoric of Southeast Kansas

An External Page Summarizing the History of Coal Mining in Cherokee County

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Mining Coal in Southeast Kansas In Southeast Kansas, two methods were used to mine coal: strip mining and underground mining, with strip mining being the most effective.

In 1874, 4 brothers by the name of Scammon used the underground method and dug the first mine shaft in Cherokee County. They used the room-and-pillar method, despite the shallowness of the mines. Within a few short years, the mines were producing 40 carloads of coal each day. Throughout history, the Weir-Pittsburg coal mine produced over 200 million tons of coal.

However, some beds were too thin to be mined by underground methods, so power shovels were used in the strip-mining method. Big Brutus, one of the world's largest power shovels, was used in Cherokee County.

However, strip mining leaves the land violently scarred. Some of the trenches and holes created by the shovels were 100 feet wide and 100 feet deep.

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