Template:Wp-Grundy County, Illinois-History

the text in this section is copied from an article in Wikipedia

Grundy County was established on February 17, 1841. It was formed out of LaSalle County and named after U.S. Attorney General Felix Grundy (1777–1840). The county was well known for its coal mines and attracted miners from Pennsylvania and other regions to work its deposits. The Diamond Mine Disaster occurred in Grundy County. The disaster took the lives of 69 men and boys who were trapped underground when water broke through into the mine after days of heavy rain and the pumps could not keep up with the rising erection. 22 bodies were eventually recovered, the remaining 44 were left in the mine and the mine was sealed. Today a marker stands near a Jack In The Box where they felt the majority of the bodies probably ended up. See 1883 Diamond Mine Disaster.