Coal Palace

The Coal Palace was a temporary exhibition center that stood in Ottumwa, Iowa from 1890 until 1892. It was used most prominently to showcase the local coal mining industry.During its brief history President Benjamin Harrison and Congressman William McKinley visited the building, but a decline in attendance and nature's toll on the building's exterior ultimately resulted in the building's demolition in 1892.BackgroundAlthough Iowa is most known for its rich soil and subsequent agriculture industry, Iowa had a thriving coal mining industry throughout the last half of the nineteenth century. Bituminous coal deposits, formed during the Pennsylvanian subperiod, are found throughout much of south-central Iowa, and demand for coal in Iowa grew steadily as railroad construction moved westward. By 1870, several railroad lines stretched across the state, each requiring a constant supply of coal.The opening of hundreds of coal mines across southern Iowa coincided with industrialization and the popularity of local expositions designed to showcase agriculture, commerce, and industry. An unusual trend emerged from this confluence in Iowa: massive and opulent but temporary exhibition halls were built to house these expositions, and each was a lumber structure featuring walls veneered with the material being celebrated. Following the Corn Palace in Sioux City, the Blue Grass Palace in Creston, and the Flax Palace in Forest City, the city of Ottumwa attempted to capitalize on its largest industries with a palace of its own—the Coal Palace.