Harco, Illinois facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Harco, Illinois
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 Harco, Illinois
Location in Illinois
Harco, Illinois
Location in the United States
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| Country | United States |
| State | Illinois |
| Time zone | UTC-6 (Central (CST)) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-5 (CDT) |
Harco is a small community in Saline County, Illinois, USA. It's an unincorporated community, which means it doesn't have its own local government like a city or town.
Harco started because of a coal mine. The Harrisburg Colliery Coal Company opened this mine in November 1916. The town of Harco grew up around it. The name "Harco" comes from "Har" (from Harrisburg) and "co" (from Colliery).
The Harrisburg Colliery Company was created by J. H. Kilmer from Chicago. Other founders included Ed Qualkenbush, D. K. Seten, and O. D. Norman from Harrisburg, Illinois.
Contents
History of Harco
Coal Mining in Harco
Harco was founded because coal was discovered there. The first coal was brought up from the mine on January 6, 1918. Later, this mine became known as the Saline County Coal Corporation. Even later, it was called the Peabody Coal Company Mine No. 47.
The town of Harco was officially mapped out on June 24, 1919. The map showed 121 building lots. Each lot was about 50 by 140 feet (15 by 43 meters).
Sadly, 134 men died in accidents at the Harco mines. This includes Peabody Mine No. 47 and Peabody Mine No. 40, which was west of Harco. There were 11 people killed in an explosion on August 31, 1921. Another 8 people died in an explosion on December 28, 1941.
The Harco mine closed on April 25, 1951. However, the coal washer (a machine that cleans coal) kept working until 1954. After that, the mine was taken apart.
Company Houses for Miners
To help its workers, the coal company built houses. They built four-room houses on the east side of Harco. Larger five- and six-room houses were built on the south side. These houses were Sears Catalog Homes. They were built from kits shipped by train. Then, wagons delivered the parts to the building sites. Some families were so eager to move in that they did so before the doorknobs were even put on the doors!
When the Harco mine closed in April 1951, families living in company houses had to move out. The houses were offered for sale at $50 per room. Several houses were moved to new locations. Some empty houses burned down, and the rest were torn down. This was because the land was not sold with the houses.
Community Facilities in Harco
The Harco post office opened on November 21, 1917. Thomas Hoffman was the first postmaster. Later, Lois C. Naugle was postmaster for 20 years. The post office was inside Naugle's general store.
There was a one-room school called 'Vinyard School'. A bigger two-room wooden school was built and ready in the fall of 1917. This school later burned down. A large two-story brick school building with five rooms was then built.
J. Ogden opened the first store in the village. There was also a 40-room hotel for miners. Other stores included the Company Store, run by C. V. Parker. Charlie Manier ran a grist mill and a grocery store. There was also a general store.
The Gibbon's Drug Store had a trained pharmacist and a soda fountain. Another drug store sold medicines and other items. Dr. M. D. Empson and Dr. R. G. Bond were doctors in Harco. Neotere “Butch” LePontre ran the local meat market. The village also had a shoe store, a blacksmith, and a barbershop with two chairs.
Harco had a one-room jailhouse. For many years, there was a wooden Baptist church. The Harco Baptist Church still exists today. The Old Brushy Cemetery is also nearby.
Harco's Population
Today, about 200 people live in Harco. But in the 1920s, the population was much larger, around 1,200 people. Even though Harco was never officially a town, it had many businesses. It had two drug stores, three grocery stores, two general stores, and a feed mill. A bank, operated by the Webber family, also served the community until the late 1920s.
Amish Community Near Harco
In May 2007, a group of about 60 Amish people moved to Saline County, Illinois. They came from Wisconsin. They bought almost 800 acres (3.2 square kilometers) of land near Harco to farm. They built a school house at the corner of Harco Road and Brown Road. This school was destroyed by a strong windstorm called a derecho in 2009. By 2013, the Amish community there had one church district.
