ILLINOIS COAL MUSEUM
121 S. Macoupin Street, Gillespie
TEXT: 833-228-8603
HOURS: Tuesday through Saturday, 10 a.m. – 2 p.m.

The Illinois Coal Museum is located on the first floor of a repurposed bank building. The museum building is actually three buildings and it eventually will include a pop-up shop and a business incubator in its second level. The first floor museum uses the building’s industrial architecture to enhance the exhibition script – including the walk-up teller window on the Chestnut Street side of the building. There are 6,000 square feet of exhibition space. The museum is the product of an outstanding collaboration between two local men: James Alderson (who donated his large collection of coal mining artifacts) and Dave Tucker (innovative Curator and Chairman of the museum’s Board of Directors). This excellent museum has four principal themes with artifacts, maps, posters, photographs and videos: (1) the natural history of coal, (2) the union history of coal mining in Gillespie where the Progressives and its Women’s Auxiliary were founded and with reference to other Macoupin County coal towns and including a new display comparing central Illinois to the County Durham coalfields in northeast England, (3) the lives of miners with emphasis on their equipment and safety measures, and (4) Gillespie itself as a coal town. A reconstructed a coal tunnel lets the visitor walk through miners’ underground experience. The museum has a small sale area with a selection of relevant books, mugs, pins, etc. The museum also has a large seminar room.

The museum is organized as a 501c3 not-for-profit organization. Donations are gratefully accepted.

We are delighted to repeat the announcement made on November 18, 2020 by State Senator Andy Manar and State Representative Avery Bourne, that the City of Gillespie received a $33,800 grant to assist with improvements to the Illinois Coal Museum. The Illinois Public Museum Capital Grants Program, administered by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR), is specifically used for museums operated by a local government or located on municipally-owned land. 

The Illinois Coal Museum also was identified early on as an integral part of Gillespie’s streetscape plan. Dave Tucker, Curator of the Illinois Coal Museum in Gillespie, is always in attendance during the museum hours of operation to present an excellent overview of the museum and local coal mining history, as seen in this video: CLICK

Professor Helaine Silverman on the video screen, discussing labor history in Gillespie. This is part of the educational program organized and led by Mr. Tucker for high school teachers. The program is situated in the labor history section of the museum.

BELOW: Inspired by the banners carried by Durham County (England) coal miners in their annual Gala, the Illinois Coal Museum created a banner that now hangs above one of the UMWA display cases. The other side is a banner that illustrates some of the banners carried by Durham miners lodges in the annual Durham Miners Association Gala.

BELOW: We also created “endcaps” (long posters at the end of display cabinets) comparing Macoupin County and County Durham, and also illustrating some of the key events and people of Macoupin County’s labor history.

EXCITING NEWS! The Illinois Coal Museum in collaboration with the Gillespie Public Library through support from the Mythic Mississippi Project has digitized the local newspaper for the very dramatic 1930s, which was the era of the Progressive Miners of America. CLICK HERE FOR ACCESS