Coal Mine Park Plans

BRUCEVILLE, IND. (WTHI) -       Some once grand plans for an old southern Indiana coal mine are being re-thought again.

     When the Knox County Parks Department took over the old Enoco Mine near Bruceville the original thought was to put in a recreational lake.

     That plan wasn't feasible and the county then began thinking about making it into a coal mine museum.   
 
     Now that idea is also being shelved in favor of something simpler and far less expensive..

     The development of the old Enoco Mine property has been filled with hurdles.

     The latest is a D.N.R. grant proposal to clean up and repair the old mine buildings on the site, but would then shutter them.

     "We're trying to decide whether we want them to use that money and shore up those buildings and make them look a little nicer but on the other hand we don't get to use them anymore," said Knox County Parks Superintendent Rama Sobhani.

     That is one reason the idea of putting a coal museum in the buildings is being shelved.

     While a coal museum might be interesting to some folks having one at the old Enoco Mine may not be such a good idea.

  Officials say 2 of the big problems are the remote location and the cost.

     "No fancy mining museum that's going to cost millions of dollars to build," said Sobhani.  "That we decided just wasn't feasible.  Nobody wanted to pay for it including the DNR so that's fallen by the wayside."

     Instead the parks department is planning on taking a much smaller approach.

     One that features the wetlands that are now capturing polluted water from the site and cleaning it on the spot.

     "Build maybe an overlook where you can look out over the wetland project with some information about what DNR has done there with some history about the site and what it was and what it is now with some walking trails through the wetland area," said Sobhani.

     A small project that can provide education and recreation at the old mine.

     The Parks Department is considering selling about 8 acres along an old railroad spur line to neighboring farmers.