Coal
Comes to Franklin County
A
story discovered in a 1902 issue of the Benton Evening News indicated
that Benton, the county seat, was a slumbering
quiet community at that time. Among
the businesses within the community was the only bank in Franklin County, which
was housed in a small single room measuring 12’ X 30’.
On the date of the story, the cashier of the bank had gone to lunch and left
the bank in charge of a trustworthy young boy. No sooner had the cashier left
the building than a broad-hatted stranger entered the bank wearing rough garb
and heavy boots.
The stranger told the youth that he would like to open an account in his bank.
Pulling a roll of bills out of his pocket, he counted out fifty $1,000 bills
and then added a check for $175,000 and handed them to the boy. The youth signed
a receipt for the money and handed it to the stranger, who then left the bank.
When the casher stepped out to lunch the deposits in the lone Franklin County
bank totaled $98,000. When the banker returned from lunch, he discovered that
the assets, due to the deposit of the stranger, had more than tripled, to a total
of $323,000.
The mining industry had come to Franklin County! The stranger – Joe Leiter
- founder of the City of Zeigler and the first coal mine in the county. Dr. Allan Patton
11-25-03
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