Virden, Illinois
Encyclopedia
Virden is a city in Macoupin
and Sangamon
counties in the U.S. state
of Illinois
. The population was 3,488 at the 2000 census, and 3,338 at a 2009 estimate.
The Macoupin County portion of Virden is part of the St. Louis
, Missouri
–Illinois Metropolitan Statistical Area, while the Sangamon County portion is part of the Springfield
Metropolitan Statistical Area
. The region around the Virden area is where the two metropolitan areas meet.
Virden was the scene of an 1898 coal miners' strike, during which Mary Harris "Mother" Jones played a major role.
According to the United States Census Bureau
, the city has a total area of 1.7 square miles (4.4 km²), all of it land.
of 2000, there were 3,488 people, 1,455 households, and 934 families residing in the city. The population density
was 2,032.6 people per square mile (783.0/km²). There were 1,609 housing units at an average density of 937.6 per square mile (361.2/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 98.80% White, 0.32% African American, 0.40% Native American, 0.09% Asian, 0.06% from other races
, and 0.34% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.46% of the population.
There were 1,455 households out of which 29.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.8% were married couples
living together, 10.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.8% were non-families. 31.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.32 and the average family size was 2.87.
In the city the population was spread out with 23.9% under the age of 18, 8.4% from 18 to 24, 26.5% from 25 to 44, 21.3% from 45 to 64, and 19.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 88.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 82.7 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $31,905, and the median income for a family was $41,511. Males had a median income of $30,824 versus $22,121 for females. The per capita income
for the city was $16,541. About 7.4% of families and 10.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 12.0% of those under age 18 and 9.3% of those age 65 or over.
. After the 1850s, when the Chicago and Alton railroad was completed, it became possible to mine Virden coal and ship it long distances for a profit. Throughout the second half of the 1800s, Virden prospered and grew as a coal-mining town.
A bitter coal strike broke out in 1898. The Chicago-Virden Coal Company, fearing loss of key business in Chicago, refused to allow its Virden mines to be unionized, nor would it pay the nonunionized miners union-scale wages. Instead, the coal company built a timber stockade
around its mine head, adjoining the railroad tracks, and hired African-Americans from Southern states as coal miners. The Chicago-Virden Company knew that African-Americans, who were attempting to escape Jim Crow labor conditions, would not request union-scale wages. Instead, the Company promised to pay their new workers by the ton. The new miners were promised only 30 cents per ton of coal mined.
The appearance of the African-American miners infuriated the strikers. They were motivated by racism
, by labor solidarity
, and by the desire to create decent lives for their own families. It should be noted that some of the striking coal miners were themselves African-American, and black coal miners who were union members in good standing appear to have been accepted by their unionized white comrades. However, this acceptance did not extend to strikebreaker
s.
On October 12, 1898, a northbound train, loaded with potential strikebreaking miners, pulled into Virden and stopped on the tracks just outside the minehead stockade. The mine manager and train operator, knowing there would be trouble, had reinforced the train with a troop of security guard
s, armed with Winchester rifle
s. It soon became clear that the security guards had been either ordered, or allowed, to shoot to kill
. As the strikers attempted to surround the train, the guards opened fire.
As a gun battle broke out in and around the strikebreakers' train, there were dead and wounded on both sides. Of the thirteen dead, six were security guards. Furthermore, had the strikers won the battle, their intentions toward the Alabama African-American strikebreakers were not friendly. After twenty minutes of firing on both sides, the train's engineer accepted defeat and the train pulled away from the minehead and continued northward to Springfield, Illinois
.
A monument in the Virden town square commemorates the coal strike of 1898 and the battle of October 12 that was its bitter end. The monument contains a large bronze bas-relief that includes the names of those killed, and a copy of a mendacious recruiting handbill distributed by the Chicago-Virden Company in Birmingham, Alabama
, to recruit the African-American miners. The body of the bas-relief is made of symbolic representations of the Chicago & Alton tracks and the assault on the strikers. The guards are shown pointing their Winchesters at the strikers and their families. Atop the bas-relief is a bronze portrait of Mary Harris Jones ("Mother Jones"), who is buried in nearby Mount Olive, Illinois
.
Macoupin County, Illinois
Macoupin County is a county located in the southwestern portion of the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2010 census, it has a population of 47,765, which is a decrease of 2.6% from 49,019 in 2000. The county seat is Carlinville. Macoupin County is an outlying county of the Metro-East region...
and Sangamon
Sangamon County, Illinois
Sangamon County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2010 census, it has a population of 197,465, which is an increase of 4.5% from 188,951 in 2000...
counties in the U.S. state
U.S. state
A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...
of Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
. The population was 3,488 at the 2000 census, and 3,338 at a 2009 estimate.
The Macoupin County portion of Virden is part of the St. Louis
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
, Missouri
Missouri
Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...
–Illinois Metropolitan Statistical Area, while the Sangamon County portion is part of the Springfield
Springfield, Illinois
Springfield is the third and current capital of the US state of Illinois and the county seat of Sangamon County with a population of 117,400 , making it the sixth most populated city in the state and the second most populated Illinois city outside of the Chicago Metropolitan Area...
Metropolitan Statistical Area
Springfield, Illinois metropolitan area
The Springfield Metropolitan Statistical Area, as defined by the United States Census Bureau, is an area consisting of two counties in Central Illinois, anchored by the city of Springfield...
. The region around the Virden area is where the two metropolitan areas meet.
Virden was the scene of an 1898 coal miners' strike, during which Mary Harris "Mother" Jones played a major role.
Geography
Virden is located at 39°30′N 89°46′W (39.5036, -89.7682). Most of the city lies in Macoupin County, with a small portion extending into Sangamon County. In the 2000 census, 3,378 of the city's 3,488 residents (96.8%) lived in Macoupin County and 110 (3.2%) lived in Sangamon County.According to the United States Census Bureau
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...
, the city has a total area of 1.7 square miles (4.4 km²), all of it land.
Demographics
As of the censusCensus
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
of 2000, there were 3,488 people, 1,455 households, and 934 families residing in the city. The population density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...
was 2,032.6 people per square mile (783.0/km²). There were 1,609 housing units at an average density of 937.6 per square mile (361.2/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 98.80% White, 0.32% African American, 0.40% Native American, 0.09% Asian, 0.06% from other races
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, and 0.34% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.46% of the population.
There were 1,455 households out of which 29.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.8% were married couples
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
living together, 10.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.8% were non-families. 31.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.32 and the average family size was 2.87.
In the city the population was spread out with 23.9% under the age of 18, 8.4% from 18 to 24, 26.5% from 25 to 44, 21.3% from 45 to 64, and 19.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 88.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 82.7 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $31,905, and the median income for a family was $41,511. Males had a median income of $30,824 versus $22,121 for females. The per capita income
Per capita income
Per capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...
for the city was $16,541. About 7.4% of families and 10.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 12.0% of those under age 18 and 9.3% of those age 65 or over.
History
Virden sits atop a large seam of coalCoal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure...
. After the 1850s, when the Chicago and Alton railroad was completed, it became possible to mine Virden coal and ship it long distances for a profit. Throughout the second half of the 1800s, Virden prospered and grew as a coal-mining town.
A bitter coal strike broke out in 1898. The Chicago-Virden Coal Company, fearing loss of key business in Chicago, refused to allow its Virden mines to be unionized, nor would it pay the nonunionized miners union-scale wages. Instead, the coal company built a timber stockade
Stockade
A stockade is an enclosure of palisades and tall walls made of logs placed side by side vertically with the tops sharpened to provide security.-Stockade as a security fence:...
around its mine head, adjoining the railroad tracks, and hired African-Americans from Southern states as coal miners. The Chicago-Virden Company knew that African-Americans, who were attempting to escape Jim Crow labor conditions, would not request union-scale wages. Instead, the Company promised to pay their new workers by the ton. The new miners were promised only 30 cents per ton of coal mined.
The appearance of the African-American miners infuriated the strikers. They were motivated by racism
Racism
Racism is the belief that inherent different traits in human racial groups justify discrimination. In the modern English language, the term "racism" is used predominantly as a pejorative epithet. It is applied especially to the practice or advocacy of racial discrimination of a pernicious nature...
, by labor solidarity
Solidarity
Solidarity is a Polish trade union federation that emerged on August 31, 1980 at the Gdańsk Shipyard under the leadership of Lech Wałęsa. It was the first non-communist party-controlled trade union in a Warsaw Pact country. Solidarity reached 9.5 million members before its September 1981 congress...
, and by the desire to create decent lives for their own families. It should be noted that some of the striking coal miners were themselves African-American, and black coal miners who were union members in good standing appear to have been accepted by their unionized white comrades. However, this acceptance did not extend to strikebreaker
Strikebreaker
A strikebreaker is a person who works despite an ongoing strike. Strikebreakers are usually individuals who are not employed by the company prior to the trade union dispute, but rather hired prior to or during the strike to keep the organisation running...
s.
Battle of Virden
- see main article Battle of VirdenBattle of VirdenThe Battle of Virden was a labor union conflict in Virden, southern Illinois, involving the United Mine Workers of America in October 1898. The battle left four security guards and seven striking mine workers dead, with more than 30 people wounded....
On October 12, 1898, a northbound train, loaded with potential strikebreaking miners, pulled into Virden and stopped on the tracks just outside the minehead stockade. The mine manager and train operator, knowing there would be trouble, had reinforced the train with a troop of security guard
Security guard
A security guard is a person who is paid to protect property, assets, or people. Security guards are usually privately and formally employed personnel...
s, armed with Winchester rifle
Winchester rifle
In common usage, Winchester rifle usually means any of the lever-action rifles manufactured by the Winchester Repeating Arms Company, though the company has also manufactured many rifles of other action types...
s. It soon became clear that the security guards had been either ordered, or allowed, to shoot to kill
Deadly force
Deadly force, as defined by the United States Armed Forces, is the force which a person uses, causing—or that a person knows, or should know, would create a substantial risk of causing—death or serious bodily harm...
. As the strikers attempted to surround the train, the guards opened fire.
As a gun battle broke out in and around the strikebreakers' train, there were dead and wounded on both sides. Of the thirteen dead, six were security guards. Furthermore, had the strikers won the battle, their intentions toward the Alabama African-American strikebreakers were not friendly. After twenty minutes of firing on both sides, the train's engineer accepted defeat and the train pulled away from the minehead and continued northward to Springfield, Illinois
Springfield, Illinois
Springfield is the third and current capital of the US state of Illinois and the county seat of Sangamon County with a population of 117,400 , making it the sixth most populated city in the state and the second most populated Illinois city outside of the Chicago Metropolitan Area...
.
A monument in the Virden town square commemorates the coal strike of 1898 and the battle of October 12 that was its bitter end. The monument contains a large bronze bas-relief that includes the names of those killed, and a copy of a mendacious recruiting handbill distributed by the Chicago-Virden Company in Birmingham, Alabama
Birmingham, Alabama
Birmingham is the largest city in Alabama. The city is the county seat of Jefferson County. According to the 2010 United States Census, Birmingham had a population of 212,237. The Birmingham-Hoover Metropolitan Area, in estimate by the U.S...
, to recruit the African-American miners. The body of the bas-relief is made of symbolic representations of the Chicago & Alton tracks and the assault on the strikers. The guards are shown pointing their Winchesters at the strikers and their families. Atop the bas-relief is a bronze portrait of Mary Harris Jones ("Mother Jones"), who is buried in nearby Mount Olive, Illinois
Mount Olive, Illinois
Mount Olive is a city in Macoupin County, Illinois, United States. The population was 2,150 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Mount Olive is located at ....
.
Further reading
- David Markwell. "A Turning Point: the Lasting Impact of the 1898 Virden Mine Riot," Journal of the Illinois State Historical Society, Volume: 99. Issue: 3/4. 2006. pp 211+. online edition
- Rosemary Feuer. "Remember Virden! The Coal Mines Wars of 1898-1900." Illinois History Teacher, Volume 13:2, 2006, pp. 10–22. online edition