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The coal mining industry has been a part of the history and growth of Paris, Arkansas almost from its beginnings. At first, coal was only for local use. With the coming of the railroads, coal mining became a major industry. The first coal mine near Paris was located near Short Mountain Creek in 1880. This mine was opened by George Lumpp, Matt O’Bar, and Angelo Digiacomo. They sold coal at seventy-five cents a bushel. The mines were opened for the market in 1881, and the first slope was opened in 1886. George Lumpp and Angelo Digiacomo were the first men to go under ground for coal. This mine was called the “Lone Star”.
Lack of railroad facilities held back the development for many years, but after the Missouri Pacific was completed and the capital was enlisted, the fields progress was steady. Dr. A.M. Smith was called the “Daddy” of the Paris field. Others who aided in developing the field before and during World War I included, Judge Anthony Hall and Charles F. Wall, Sr. Wilt Argo opened a marketing office in Paris during this period and was instrumental in introducing Paris coal in the northern markets. As the market increased during the 1920-1924 period in Missouri, Kansas, Iowa, Nebraska, Minnesota and North and South Dakota, the principal coal companies operating were Dixie Fuel Company by B.C. Reed, Watson Coal Company by J.W. Watson, Paris Purity Coal Company by H. Denman, Jewel Coal Company by George Colville, New Union Coal Company and Shockley mine by Afton Mitchell and Bob Winn, Eureka Coal Company by Earl Johnson, Superfuel Coal Company by George Minmier and C.C. Fitts, Economy Coal Company by W.A. Tinsley, Victor Coal by Harvey Arnold and Ideal Coal Company by L.B. Cox. The Paris Coal field was a symmetric basin of coal lying under Short and Horseshoe Mountains. It was about 8-1/2 miles long and 2-1/2 miles wide and pitches from the outcrop and drove the slopes toward the basin or center. The Paris Purity had a shaft mine which was abandoned in early 1930 and moved to the north crop where they opened a slope mine. The Jewel Coal Company abandoned their shaft in 1938 and drove a rock slope on an 18 degree angle and intercepted the coal bed at 550 feet. The Jewel Mine was the oldest mine in the Arkansas-Oklahoma field which was still operating. It was started in 1908 by Anthony Hall of Paris and was sold to the Jewel Mining Company in 1921, and they operated it until 1958. In 1950, it was listed in Coal Age Magazine as one of the Granddaddy mines in America which was still working. Paris coal was a semi-bituminous coal, remarkably free from impurities, burning with a clear white ash, seldom producing clinkers and unexcelled for heat producing qualities. There was a semi-anthracite field east of Paris that has commanded market sales equal to the best anthracite. When a smoke ordinance was passed in St. Louis, Arkansas coal was shipped into St. Louis by the trainload. In 1935, 1044 miners were employed in the Paris field but by World War II time this number was greatly increased. The day wage scale was $7.50 per day for eight hours and in 1958 it was increased to $20.25 per 6-1/2 hour shift plus 80¢ per ton produced by the mine going into the miners pension fund. By the 1950s though, the mines began to close up, and Paris had to adapt by broadening its economic base. But the memory of the mines and what they meant to Paris have not been forgotten. Plans are being made to construct a memorial to the coal miners and a miniature coal mine in Paris so that today’s generation will be able to remember that the economic lamp of Paris was once fueled by coal. |
