By Sandy Vasko

Just north of the Will County line lies a battlefield. I grew up there and never knew the story under my feet.

Well, that’s not exactly true. When my father and I would visit the local establishments on a Saturday afternoon, I heard the old timers tell of men who died working in the local stone quarries. But when we were fishing at Cat Lady’s Quarry, I saw nothing but peace and quiet. But there was blood under my feet, and today I will tell that tale.

The town of Lemont was just another canal town, only more so. It was known primarily for its stone. Lemont, originally named Athens, was sitting on limestone that was known for its strength and beauty, coming in many different colors, including blue. It was known as Athens Marble.

The demand for Athens Marble far outweighed the supply, and those owning the quarries soon became rich beyond an Irishman’s wild expectations. But rich men do not stay rich by giving their money away, or for that matter, by paying a decent wage to their workers.

Working in a stone quarry was one of the most demanding, dangerous jobs you could have. The pay was poor, the hours long and the benefits non-existent.

From 1869 to 1875, Lemont doubled its population, primarily from an influx of families whose men worked in the quarries. Almost all of those families were new immigrants, happy at first to take any wage offered. But soon, it was not enough.

We read on April 25, 1876, in the Joliet Signal: “The workmen in several quarries at Lemont, to the number of about 200, struck last week for higher wages, and made some lively demonstrations in and around that rock ribbed village. These men do not belong to the stone cutting force, but are employed at quarry work at $1 (about $30.77 today) per day. They demanded $1.50 ($46.15). To render their demand more emphatic, they formed into squads, and marched armed with knives and revolvers, through the streets of the village. The citizens by way of defense organized a company of special police, which was further strengthened by a detachment from the special police force of Chicago. Four of the rioters were arrested, and the men are again at work.”

The special police from Chicago are known to us by a different name – the Pinkertons. The Pinkertons had a reputation for quelling striking rioters by any means necessary, and they lived up to it.

Conditions at the quarries got no better. Things came to a head in the spring of 1885. Quarry owners petitioned Springfield. Governor Oglesby was quick to call out the state militia.

The Wilmington Advocate had a man reporting the story from the scene: “At 6:30 yesterday morning, Colonel Bennett, commanding the troops at Joliet, received orders from the Governor to proceed to Lemont, it being feared that the striking quarry men at that point contemplated a disturbance. A special train was in waiting, and at 8 o’clock 4 companies of the Fourth Regiment, with a detachment of C Battery of Artillery of Joliet, and a Gatling gun and camp equipments, left Joliet for this place.”

The angry mob had heard that militia were coming by train and had assembled around the Lemont depot. The troops stopped just outside the town and positioned the Gatling Gun and artillery on the bluffs above the town.

The reporter goes on to say, “The main body of the troops was then formed into column of companies across the street, and put in motion. The crowd stood its ground, and the soldiers were ordered to charge bayonets. There was no resisting the wall of cold steel, and the mob broke and scattered, retiring precipitately into gardens and houses, a considerable number of the more courageous ones still holding their ground as best they could, and yielding inch by inch.

“After marching in this way for three blocks, the crowd in front being steadily driven back, the portion of the mob which had been driven into the houses and yards gathered again in groups in rear of the militia, and at an apparent signal, consisting of a gun shot fired from the east side of the street, a body of several hundred strikers came out of a street on the east and furiously attacked the rear of the column with large cobble stones.

“Hemmed in on three sides by from 800 to 1,000 angry, hooting men, the 2 military companies, numbering all told 75 or 80 officers and men, were placed in a most unenviable position. As the mob persisted in the attack several of the soldiers opened fire. About ten shots were fired into the crowd, and then the command charged into the mob and soon driving everything before them. All the companies then advanced to the center of the town and took up positions covering every street.

“The causalities as far ascertained are as follows; Killed – Andrena Steiter, shot through the brain. Jack Kulawu, died of his wounds. Wounded – John Pollack, wounded in the left side with a bayonet. Adolf Miller, arm broken from a shot from a revolver while in the act of hurling rocks at the soldiers. A. Sipalipki, stabbed in the back. J. Maddy, three slight stabs. Valentine Knoniche, wounded in the head. P. Musial, wounded in the left side. J. Schelmetzka, struck on the head with sword; W. Schaefer, bayonet thrust through the arm; Frank Sizak, stabbed in the leg; J. Schultz, wounded in the left arm, S. Nowak, flesh wound in the left side. Two women, Mrs. Luper and Mrs. Lomash, slightly wounded by being pressed back with the butts of the muskets of the soldiers.”

The battle was over, the bad guys won, and the war now all but forgotten.

Sandy Vasko serves on the Board of Directors of the Will County Historical Museum and Research Center, and is Collections and Research manager.