Editing West Frankfort, Illinois (section)

==History==
Although one might associate the name "West Frankfort" with the city "[[Frankfurt]]" in Germany, or [[Frankfort, Kentucky|Frankfort]] in [[Kentucky]], the truth is far more local. Around 1810, early Tennessee settler Francis ("Frank") Jordan and his seven brothers began the construction of a fort atop a hill in present-day Franklin County.  Completed in 1811, the fort was named "Frank's Fort," in Jordan's honor.<ref name="West Frankfort">[http://www.westfrankfort-il.com/default.asp?id=229 Official City Website] Retrieved on October 29, 2007</ref>

Frank's Fort was built in today's Williamson County, Ill., near Corinth. A few miles to the east, Francis' brother, Thomas Jordan, built "Jordan's Fort" in Cave Township, Franklin County, Ill., near the town of Thompsonville.

The construction of these forts was in response to the danger of attack during [[Tecumseh's War]], which culminated in the [[Battle of Tippecanoe]] in 1811. Then-governor of the [[Illinois Territory]], [[Ninian Edwards]], actively encouraged the construction of these forts and offered the services of the Saline Militia in their erection.<ref name="West Frankfort" /> Thus, both Jordan family forts were built with the help of the Illinois Militia for safety of the civilians.

Since the Shawnee Trail, an important trading route linking [[Kaskaskia, Illinois]] and [[Old Shawneetown, Illinois]], ran along the high ground in the vicinity of the fort, this area became an attractive destination for settlers in search of cheap land made available by the recently passed [[Bit Act]] of 1850.  The resulting settlement took the name of the nearby fort, which was subsequently shortened to "Frankfort."  Frankfort grew quickly during this period, with its population rivaling that of Chicago, at the time.<ref name="West Frankfort" />

Frankfort was Franklin County's first [[county seat]] until 1839, when the lower half of the county was declared as [[Williamson County, Illinois|Williamson County]].

After railroad tracks linking Chicago, [[Paducah, Kentucky|Paducah]], and [[Memphis, Tennessee|Memphis]], were laid {{convert|4|mi|km|0}} west of Frankfort, many businesses and residents migrated to the new commercial center forming near the tracks. This new community became known as West Frankfort, for its location to the west of Frankfort.  The two cities eventually merged and retained the name West Frankfort.<ref name="West Frankfort" />

The area of West Frankfort formerly known as ''Frankfort'' is still sometimes referred to locally as ''Frankfort Heights'' or, more commonly, simply as "The Heights", due to its higher elevation relative to the rest of the city. A post office was maintained in Frankfort Heights until its destruction by fire in 2004, making West Frankfort one of the smallest cities in the United States to have two [[ZIP codes]] (the other zip code is designated as "Frankfort Heights, Illinois").<ref name="West Frankfort" />

Beginning in 1904, the Deering Coal Mine Company took Franklin County and West Frankfort from no coal production in 1900 to being the #1 coal producer in Illinois by 1917. Once the mines opened, the population increased 3,500 in seven years. By 1927, West Frankfort's population had reached 19,896. In the late 1940s, four theatres and a minor league baseball team (see below) marked the downtown area.

===Tri-State Tornado of 1925===
{{main|1925 Tri-State tornado}}

=== 1929 coal mine explosion ===
On December 1, 1929, an explosion at the Old Ben Coal Company's No. 8 Mine killed 7 people.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://usminedisasters.miningquiz.com/saxsewell/old_ben_1929_news_only.htm|title=Old Ben No. 8 Mine Explosion|last=United States Mine Rescue Association|website=Mine Disasters in the United States|language=en|access-date=2018-06-23}}</ref>

=== 1947 coal mine explosion ===
The Old Ben No. 8 Mine exploded again on July 24, 1947, killing 27 people.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://usminedisasters.miningquiz.com/saxsewell/old_ben_1947_news_only.htm|title=Old Ben No. 8 Mine Explosion|last=United States Mine Rescue Association|website=Mine Disasters in the United States|language=en|access-date=2018-06-23}}</ref>

===West Frankfort Cardinals===
The [[West Frankfort Cardinals]] were a minor-league baseball team from 1947 to 1950, serving as a Class D affiliate of the [[St. Louis Cardinals]].

===1951 coal mine explosion===
The Orient No. 2 coal mine exploded on December 21, 1951, killing 119 men.<ref>{{cite news |title=Mine accidents in the United States |url=http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/04/06/mine.accidents.timeline/index.html |access-date=6 July 2020 |agency=CNN |date=6 April 2010}}</ref> The mine, located outside of West Frankfort, was one of the area's major employers.  According to lifelong residents, everyone in West Frankfort was affected by this tragedy, including grade schoolers of the time who remember their own losses or the suffering of classmates.  Many residents had even said they could never celebrate Christmas again.  After the catastrophe, the West Frankfort Junior High School became a temporary morgue for identification of the bodies,<ref>{{cite news |title=West Frankfort, IL Coal Mine Gas Explosion, Dec 1951 |url=https://www.gendisasters.com/illinois/5505/west-frankfort-il-coal-mine-gas-explosion-dec-1951 |access-date=6 July 2020 |work=Waterloo Daily Courier |date=23 December 1951}}</ref> with many calls going out for funeral directors.  The explosion received national attention from the wire services, newspapers and ''[[Life Magazine]]''.{{citation needed|date=April 2021}}  Illinois Governor [[Adlai Stevenson II|Adlai Stevenson]] visited the site to support those mourning.{{citation needed|date=April 2021}} The [[United States Bureau of Mines]] called the explosion "avoidable,"  with the disaster resulting in Congress passing the [[Federal Coal Mine Safety Act of 1952]].{{citation needed|date=April 2021}} In 2020, after years of planning and funding, locals unveiled a new $40,000 (~${{Format price|{{Inflation|index=US-GDP|value=40000|start_year=2020}}}} in {{Inflation/year|US-GDP}}) memorial monument in Coal Miners Memorial Park, which records the names of all 119 men killed in the disaster.{{citation needed|date=April 2021}}

===Eclipse crossroads of America===
The area was in totality during the [[solar eclipse of August 21, 2017]], with [[Giant City State Park]], approximately {{convert|25|mi}} to the southwest, experiencing the longest period of totality during the eclipse (approximately 2 minutes and 40 seconds).<ref>{{cite web | url =http://eclipse.siu.edu/tickets/ | title =Southern Illinois: eclipse crossroads of America | date =May 5, 2016 | publisher =[[Southern Illinois University]] | archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20170324024309/http://eclipse.siu.edu/tickets/ | archive-date =March 24, 2017 | url-status =dead }}</ref> It was also within the path of totality of the [[solar eclipse of April 8, 2024]], making it one of only a handful of cities within the direct paths of both eclipses.