Located 27 miles southeast of Springfield, Taylorville [Note 1] is an important town on the labor landscape of coal mining in central Illinois. Taylorville miners sought remediation of their poor labor conditions in 1912 when four hundred of them went out on strike demanding better and more safety equipment. And Taylorville was an epicenter of the “coal mine wars” of the 1930s that pitted the United Mine Workers union against the Progressives union as explained in the Labor History page of this website.  

Kevin Corley is the author of two fascinating books of historical fiction about the coal mine wars as they played out in Taylorville and its area: Sixteen Tons covers 1898-1933 and Throw Out the Water [Note 2] deals with 1933-1937. The novels are especially worthwhile because most of the dialogue in them is taken from the oral history interviews that Mr. Corley conducted with surviving miners from those times. You can watch a very informative interview with Mr. Corley (conducted by Mark McDonald for “Illinois Stories”): CLICK

In the interview we learn that the Courthouse was an active locus of the mine war between the UWM and Progressives. So violent was the situation that the machine gun-toting National Guardsmen were stationed in buildings around the Courthouse square and also were in the square with bayonets. They arrested hundreds of Progressives and held them in the Courthouse – but the miners jumped out the windows and escaped. 

Taylorville has a very attractive town square with a fine courthouse (which, as indicated above) was part of the action in the mine war mentioned above.

It also has an outstanding coal museum outside the town center.
_________________________________________________________________________
Notes
[1] Several newspaper stories about Christian County’s coal mining history are:
“Delving into history: Christian County museum documents coal mining and its dangers” buy Tony Reid. Herald & Review, January 9, 2006.
“A miner and his museum”, blog, June 3, 2015, see: https://lithspringfield.com/2015/01/03/a-miner-and-his-museum/
[2] The phrase “throw out the water” means going out on strike. Miners would empty their drinking water pail as a signal to all men below to go to the surface in a work stoppage.