Pana, Illinois 1899

Dr. Hubers

Events in Pana spoke to similar issues as those in Virden. In Pana, the 4 mining companies coalesced and were relentless in their efforts to prevent unionization. The UMWA had solid community support, and the union successfully turned back trainloads of strikebreakers with that support. Even before the events at Virden, Pana mine owners recruited African-Americans and their families from Alabama, determined to use racial division as a weapon to prevail against community support.

Initially the UMWA’s strategy of non-violence was successful, but the racial divide eventually prevailed. Internecine warfare between the company’s guards and the union and the African-American strikebreakers caused Governor Tanner to declare martial law intermittently between 1898-1899. The union finally captured all of the political power of the town, including the office of the Mayor, and the Governor withdrew troops at their request.

In April 1899, a shootout in downtown Pana left 7 killed and many more wounded. In June 1899, Governor Tanner provided funds to send over 300 of the African-Americans back to Alabama, while others sought survival in other parts of the north. One group agreed to go to Carterville for strikebreaking jobs at the Brush mine, initiating another saga of the drama in the mine wars of 1898-1900.

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