Newspaper Article from a Newspaper in Mt. Vernon , Illinois

(Date and Newspaper Unknown)

(Spelling not changed)

New Town in Illinois

Latest Developments in Leiter's Ambitious Project

Town to Be called Ziegler and have 10,000 population

Railroad to be built

Benton , Ill. February 2, -- Joseph Leiter left last night for Chicago after spending his second week in Benton . He has purchased about 8000 acres of land in Franklin County and has paid out for the same over $200,000. In about three weeks he will let the contract for a railroad from Benton , where it joins the Illinois Central and the Chicago and Eastern Illinois railroads, down into this purchased land, a distance of 12 miles. This road will cost $225,000, as it will be constructed in a most substantial manner with 75-pound steel, and a large bridge across Big Muddy river . The road and roadbed must stand a train of 40 cars of 100,000 pounds' capacity each. Two coal shafts will be sunk at once with a capacity of 15,000 bushels each daily.

The output of these mines will be burned into coke with 1000 coke ovens, which Mr. Leiter says he will have in operation inside of a year. Twelve hundred men will be employed at the start, but later this number will be increased to 3500, and other mines will be opened and other industries established. These men, with their families, will make a city of " Ziegler ." Every foot of ground and every house in the city will be owned by the company of which Mr. Leiter is the head. Houses that will rent for $5 to $10 will be constructed. The cars will be built on special order and will have a capacity of 100,000 pounds.

Trains of 40 cars will be made up at the coke ovens. These will be pulled to Benton by Mr. Leiter 's engines, and then taken to Chicago over the Chicago and Eastern Illinois or Illinois Central railways intact. Mr. Leiter 's company will spend about $3,000,000 in Franklin County in three years. The city of Benton will double and the country triple in population in that time.

Note: The following information added at the bottom of the letter from Gene Prudent to

Allan Patton :

            Allan : The above item passed on to me by Irene Nova today June 30, 1989 .

                                                                                       Gene Prudent

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Footnote to this story by Dr. Allan Patton

I had asked Allan if there were 1000 coke ovens here in Zeigler as the letter above listed; then where were the remains of the ovens. Allan replied:

In 1899, after a financial disaster at the wheat market, Levi and Joseph Leiter decided to enter into a new venue.   The Leiters, friends to many Chicago industrialist, decided the would venture into the steel fuel industry.  Leiter's research indicated that the coal most suited to be converted to coke could be found in southern Illinois - Carterville.  Leiter sent his attorney and manager to Carterville to attempt to buy the mine.  However, the owner would not part with his mine at any price, so Leiter sent his engineer to find similar coal in the Carterville neighborhood.   Core drillings indicated that the Herrin No. 6 coal seam ran north and northeast into Franklin County, a section named Six Mile Township.  By 1902 Liter had purchased more than 7,000 acres of real estate, including mineral rights, on Six Mile Prairie.  Beginning in 1902 Leiter's men began sinking a mine in Six Mile Township to retrieve the valuable coal that will help build a new empire in coke.    Once the shaft was sunk, and the entries driven, the engineers informed Leiter that the coal on his property varied in height from seven to thirteen feet.  Not only was the seam unbelievable in quantity, it was also in a class by its self in quality, including a sulphur content of 1% .  The engineers convinced Leiter that his coal was so valuable that he would be wasting time and money to convert it to coke.   Once the coal mine went into production, Leiter discontinued the coke ovens and converted his operation to a modern mechanized coal producing giant named Zeigler No. 1 mine.  So, to this day, the coke ovens only appear on paper, having never been built in Zeigler or any other region.

This page last updated on May 8, 2006

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