2b. Wagon Mines

Early homesteaders took advantage of coal outcrops and mined coal to heat their sod homes. Homesteaders often filed claims on land that contained sizable coal seams, where they could mine the coal and sell it in town for about $2 per ton. Others simply opened the seam and allowed neighbors to mine their own for $1 per wagon load. Unlike the commercial mines, these wagon mines often sat quiet until planting and harvesting were completed.

“The availability of lignite as a fuel was probably as important as the availability of prairie sod as a building material in the establishment and sustenance of rural settlement in this region of the Great Plains. . . Without it, settlement certainly would have been more difficult and expensive.”

– Alvar W. Carlson, Professor of Geography