Replies

It goes without saying, but the demographics of some counties have changed significantly over time. I have my Dad's old high school yearbook from when he lived in Austin, Texas. German and English surnames predominated. There were a handful of Hispanic students at the school and no blacks (this was in the 1930s). Now the county is listed with the predominant ancestry being Mexican according to the 2000 census portrayed in the map I linked. 33% of the county is now listed as Hispanic.

Re your coal mine comment. A lot of people probably do not realize there was (or is) significant coal mining in Illinois. There is a nice coal mine exhibit at the Museum of Science and Technology in Chicago. I took my kids there once.

A lot of people probably do not realize there was (or is) significant coal mining in Illinois.

My grandfather worked alongside his father and older brothers in the mines for a while. He didn't like it much and eventually got a job as a millwright at a local factory, where he worked for the next 35 years. He just died this past June at age 90. Some of my most prized possessions are a pocket knife with the name of the coal company he worked for on the handle, a small lapel pin for completing the mine safety course in 1936 and the carbide lamp he used.

It was all pretty low grade coal in that area, and between trains going to diesel and people stopping using it in home heating, there was no demand for Illinois coal anymore. All the mines pretty much closed down after WW2.