Editing Mystic, Iowa (section)

==History==
[[Image:CentervilleMines.png|thumb|300px|Map of the Mystic and Brazil area from 1908, showing the railroads and shipping coal mines (shown in red) of the region. Mystic and Brazil are in the upper left quadrant. Smaller mines that did not ship by rail are not shown.]]
At the end of the 19th century, "the valley of Walnut Creek was one continuous [[mining camp]], known under different names, Jerome, Diamond, '''Mystic''', Clarkdale, [[Rathbun, Iowa|Rathbun]] and Darby" (later known as Darbyville).<ref name="books.google.com">H. Foster Bain, Geology of Appanoose County, [https://books.google.com/books?id=HpURAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA389 Iowa Geological Survey Annual Report, 1895] Conway, Des Moines, 1896; page 389.</ref>  The present name is derived from [[Mystic, Connecticut]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Dawson|first=John Frank|title=Place names in Colorado: why 700 communities were so named, 150 of Spanish or Indian origin|url=https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015051116740;view=1up;seq=42|publisher=The J. Frank Dawson Publishing Co.|location=Denver, CO|page=36}}</ref> A. M. Elgin opened the first coal mine in the Mystic area in 1857, about 1.5 miles north of Mystic on Little Walnut Creek.  The Mystic coal seam was exposed on the surface there, and [[Drift mine|drifts]] were opened and abandoned over the next few decades until the hills were honeycombed with mines.

In 1858, Isaac Fuller opened a large mine in Mystic, shipping coal for domestic use in nearby [[Centerville, Iowa|Centerville]].  In 1887, the [[Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul Railway]] built a line through Mystic, leading to an explosive growth in mining.<ref>James H. Lees, History of Coal Mining in Iowa, Chapter III of [https://books.google.com/books?id=1BUMAAAAYAAJ&lpg=PA415&pg=PA534 Annual Report, 1908], Iowa Geological Survey, 1909, pages 534–535.</ref>  By 1893, there were 14 mines in Mystic and 2 in Brazil, just to the south.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=PRAAAAAAMAAJ&pg=RA4-PA11 Sixth Biennial Report of the State Mine Inspector to the Governor of the State of Iowa for the Two Years Ending June 30, 1893], Ragsdale, Des Moines, 1893, page 11.</ref>  It is noteworthy that the terms ''brass'', ''brazzle'' and ''brazil'' are English dialect terms for [[pyrite]] or to coal seams with significant pyrite content<ref>Julia A. Jackson, James Mehl and Klaus Neuendorf, [https://books.google.com/books?id=SfnSesBc-RgC&lpg=PA82&pg=PA82  Glossary of Geology], American Geological Institute, 2005; page 82.</ref> and that a shale layer not far above the Mystic coal seam in Mystic and Brazil contains significant pyrite.<ref name="books.google.com"/>

Local Assembly 3335 of the [[Knights of Labor]] was based in Brazil and had a membership of 75 in 1884.<ref>Part III, Labor Organizations: Knights of Labor, [https://books.google.com/books?id=nps3AAAAMAAJ&pg=PA55 First Biennial Report of the Bureau of Labor Statistics for the State of Iowa], Geo. E. Roberts, Des Moines, 1885; page 55.</ref>  The miners of Mystic and Brazil joined the [[United Mine Workers]] in 1898.  By 1902, Local 201 in Brazil had 220 members and Local 634 in Mystic had 569 members.<ref>Trade Unions in Iowa – Table No. 1, Mine Workers of America, United, [https://books.google.com/books?id=5dooAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA232 Tenth Biennial Report of the Bureau of Labor Statistics for the State of Iowa, 1901–1902], Murphy, Des Moines, 1903; page 232.</ref>  By 1912, Local 201 had 370 members and Locals 239 and 634 in Mystic had a combined membership of 851.<ref>Tally Sheet, [https://books.google.com/books?id=cfAUAAAAIAAJ&pg=RA1-PA1005 Proceedings of the 23rd Annual Convention of the United Mine Workers of America] Jan. 16 – Feb. 2, 1912, Indianapolis; Volume 2, pages 180A-182A.</ref>  The total [[UMWA]] membership in 1912 represents about 1/4 of the entire population.

In 1914, the Lodwick Brothers Coal Company of Mystic produced over 100,000 tons of coal, ranking among the top 24 coal producers in the state.<ref>Frederick E. Saward, [https://books.google.com/books?id=NO8oAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA65 The Coal Trade, 1915], page 65.</ref>