Terre Haute Coke and Carbon Plant, in Indiana

Originally built in 1916, Terre Haute’s former “coke plant” included several tall smoke stacks, a dozen brick buildings and its own railroad yard. On one side were tall mounds of black coal waiting to be converted into coke, a coal byproduct used in steel manufacturing.

Burning coal to make coke produces a number of valuable byproducts, such as gas, ammonia, tar and benzene. All these products added value to the plant, which provided gas for homes in Terre Haute and other products shipped around the Midwest.

But there’s another side to the plant’s history. Many of the men who worked there or their surviving family members, believe coal dust led to serious health problems and, in many cases, early deaths.

There’s also the environmental impact. The City of Terre Haute, the state of Indiana and the federal government have so far poured about a half-a-million dollars into studying the contamination at the site. Cleanup of about 20 of the site’s 53 acres is expected to begin next year at an estimated cost of $7 million. By the time the whole site is clean, in several more years, the final price tag could be more than twice that.

The making of a costly cleanup

The coke plant opened in 1916 as the Indiana Coke and Gas Company at a cost of $750,000, according to a contemporary article in the Terre Haute Tribune. Originally, the plant’s president, Alfred F. Ogle, hoped to put the facility at 13th Street and College Avenue. But those plans changed and the plant opened a few blocks to the south at 13th and Hulman Streets.

A formal opening of the plant in September 1916 included Ogle and other plant executives. Plant officials said the facility would produce 400 tons of coke and 2 million feet of gas per day. It was also expected to produce tar, ammonia and benzol.

In 1935, Indiana Gas and Chemical Corp. took over operation of the plant. That company, eventually acquired by the Hulman family, maintained ownership until the late 1980s. The Hulmans sold the plant in 1989 to Terre Haute Coke and Carbon, which only operated the plant for a short time before going out of business in the early 1990s. The facility was soon demolished and was eventually fully acquired by the City of Terre Haute’s Department of Redevelopment, the current property owner.

From Tribune Star

This video was taken from a old VHS tape my father, Steven Caldwell had. Sorry for the sync issues with the video. It was straight from the DVD I had that had a conversion of the VHS.