Unseen St. Louis

1 week ago | unseenstlouis.substack.com | Jackie Dana

On May 22, for the Unseen STL History Talks series, I presented a talk on the history of coal and clay mining in St. Louis and Central Illinois. What follows is an expanded recap of the St. Louis part of that presentation — a deeper look at the people, industries, and places that shaped the region from beneath the surface. You can also listen to the full talk above and browse through the accompanying slides.

3 weeks ago | unseenstlouis.substack.com | Jackie Dana

Welcome back to Unseen St. Louis and our two-part exploration of the early Illinois coal industry. In Part 1, we followed the rise of Illinois’s coal empire — from exposed riverbank seams to boomtowns like Benld and Gillespie, and what it was like to work in a coal mine in the late 19th and early 20th century. The story of coal mining in Illinois wasn’t just about digging coal — it was also about standing up for workers’ rights and better (and safer) working conditions.

1 month ago | unseenstlouis.substack.com | Jackie Dana

From brick-lined streets to smokestacks and railroads, the physical foundations of St. Louis were shaped in many ways by what came out of the ground. This month’s Unseen STL History Talk will explore the region’s history of coal and clay mining — and the immigrant labor that powered much of it. Whether you’ve heard whispers about lost mines in south St. Louis or wondered how Illinois coal kept St. Louis running, this talk will dig into the stories buried just beneath our feet.

1 month ago | unseenstlouis.substack.com | Jackie Dana

Welcome to Unseen St. Louis, where I dig into the overlooked corners of our city’s past. In honor of May Day, I crossed the Mississippi to uncover the coal mining boom in Illinois — the first installment of a two-part series on the industry that helped power St. Louis. Long before the electric age, St. Louis was powered by coal — much of it dug from the ground in central and southern Illinois.

1 month ago | unseenstlouis.substack.com | Jackie Dana

Last Thursday, a crowd packed into Leviathan Bookstore for a conversation about one of St. Louis’s most quietly transformative mayors: Raymond Tucker. The evening featured Dr. Andrew Theising, author of Mid-Mod Mayor: How Raymond Tucker Shaped St. Louis, and Tim Tucker, grandson of the former mayor. The speakers painted a compelling portrait of a leader whose legacy still shapes the city today. As we learned in the talk, Raymond Tucker brought a pragmatic and principled approach to governance.