Carbon Hill was founded in 1874 and incorporated on January 23, 1892. The village grew around the coal mining activity that was common in the area for nearly a century. There were four major mines located around Carbon Hill that concentrated their efforts on the vast deposits of bituminous coal reserves that lie just south of Chicago in Grundy and Will counties.

During the height of the mining industry, Carbon Hill was home to numerous grocery and clothing stores, a slaughterhouse, and nearly two dozen taverns that catered to a population of 1,252 in 1900.

In the spring of 1912, a large tornado outbreak affected portions of the High Plains, the Upper Midwest and the Southern U.S. A severe-weather event that took place between April 20-22 produced nearly 32 tornadoes, of which 10 were considered violent, all of which rated F-4 on the Fujita scale. The two-day outbreak of storms killed 56 people across five states, including Illinois and Indiana. Another intense tornado outbreak April 27, killed nearly 40 people, mostly in Oklahoma.

Shortly before 6 p.m. Sunday, April 21, a series storms hit towns in Illinois. This second day of intense storms in the area produced several strong tornadoes in Grundy, Will, Kankakee and Livingston counties.

A tornado in Grundy County took down the tipple of the Big Four Coal Company at the west end of Carbon Hill, the town’s last working coal mine. Brick and wooden structures, the mine smokestack and several railroad cars were also destroyed. The Then photograph shows a view of the aftermath of the tornado.

Several houses in town were partially unroofed, others twisted on their foundations and even more had windows blown out or walls damaged. When the big tower over the last coal shaft was wrecked, coal mining in the community ended. Many of the miners had to move on to find work in other towns. Surprisingly, some took their homes with them while others just abandoned their modest dwellings and left town.

Although no one in Carbon Hill was reported injured in the storm, many farm homes and barns were destroyed, windmills were blown down, and many head of cattle were reported killed in surrounding towns, including Coal City. The same storm system hit and damaged several Illinois villages and towns in its path, including Dwight, Reddick and Grant Park, before heading east to Indiana.

In one generation a village of 1,200 residents working in four mines at the turn of the century dwindled to 281 by 1920. Today, there are about 350 residents in Carbon Hill.

The Now photograph shows a similar view of the location where the 1912 cyclone struck the Big Four Coal Company.