Unemployed miner, Herrin, Illinois. General caption: Williamson County, Illinois, once produced 11,000,000 tons of coal per year, and led the state in output. Since 1923, output has steadily declined until now it falls short of 2,000,000 tons. At one time, sixteen mine-whistles blowing to work could be heard from the center of Herrin. Now only two mines are running and those will probably be abandoned within the next year. The Herrin office of the UMWA (United Mine Workers of America) was once the most active in the state. Today it is no longer self-sustaining. These pictures were taken in the Herrin UMWA office on a day when the mines were not working. They show the type of miners still employed in Williamson County but faced with the almost certain prospect of being discarded by the industry when the last mine is closed. Sourced from the Library of Congress.