Missouri Coal Country: County Histories of Missouri's Coal Mines

A boy in a cap sits on a wagon full of crushed ore holding a long tool, while a man in overalls stands with a shovel inside an open mine shed. — A boy and a man loading ore into a wagon at the Daisy Bell Mine in Aurora, Lawrence County, Missouri, photographed by Lewis Hine for the National Child Labor Committee in October 1910.Lewis Wickes Hine. Library of Congress. Source record. Public domain.

These 4 pages tell the story of Missouri coal mining county by county, written only from the old county histories, with every source cited.

The counties

Coal Mining in Lafayette County, Missouri: Lexington to CorderLafayette County, Missouri coal from the 1881 and 1910 histories: Lexington's 1,000-man company, the 46 mines of 1908, and pits at Higginsville and Corder.From the 1881 and 1910 county histories

Coal Mining in Macon County, Missouri: Bevier, Lingo and KeotaHow coal built Bevier, Lingo and Keota in Macon County, Missouri: first shafts, Welsh miners, strikes and 1908 mines, from the 1910 county history.From the 1910 county history

Coal Mining in Randolph County, Missouri: Higbee, Huntsville, ElliottCoal mining in Randolph County, Missouri, from the 1920 county history: mines at Higbee, Huntsville, Elliott, Renick and Yates, and the men who ran them.From the 1920 county history

Lead and Zinc Mining in Jasper County, Missouri, 1848 to 1883How lead and zinc built Joplin, Oronogo, Webb City and Carterville, from William Tingle's 1848 find to 1883, as told in the 1883 Jasper County history.From the 1883 county history

Coal country in the other Midwest states →

Tracing a coal-mining ancestor in Missouri

Federal census. From 1850 on, the census lists each man's occupation. Look for "coal miner" or "miner," the township, and his birthplace and his parents' birthplaces, which often point to another coal region or another country.
Death records and cemeteries. Search our Missouri database by surname. Many coal camps had their own cemeteries, which outlived the towns.
Mine inspectors' reports. State mine inspectors published regular reports on the mines in their districts, including accidents.
The county histories. Each page here links the books it was written from. Their biographical sections name operators, superintendents, and miners, with parents, spouses, and where the family came from.
Newspapers. Local papers carried mine openings, strikes, accidents, and obituaries. Chronicling America, from the Library of Congress, is free to search.

Was your family in Missouri coal country?

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Frequently asked questions

Where were Missouri's coal mines?

The pages here cover Jasper, Lafayette, Macon and Randolph counties, as the old county histories describe them. Each page names the mines, companies and camps its books record.

How do I find out if my ancestor was a coal miner in Missouri?

Start with the census: from 1850 on it lists occupation, so look for 'coal miner' or 'miner' and note the township. Then read the county history for that county and look for the state mine inspectors' reports.

Are these pages based on real sources?

Yes. Each county page is written only from public-domain county histories, names the books, and links to the full text on the Internet Archive.

Photographs on this page are in the public domain. About the images and their sources.