Charles M Province

The Mine Shaft in My Backyard Charles M Province

In 1891, Arthur Thacher's daughter, Theodora, was born in St. Louis, Missouri. In 1894, when Mr. Thacher organized a new mining company in Flat River, Missouri, he named his company "The Theodora Lead Company," and he began mining on the 184 acres of land that was previously the George Williams Farm. In the late 1940s, I was a child living in Flat River and until my Grandpa Province told me the story, I had no idea that the huge pile of rocks I played on every day in my backyard was the filled-in 350-foot shaft to the Theodora Mine. This book delves into the history of the Theodora Lead Company and at the same time, provides a good description of the mining activities in Flat River (and the surrounding Lead Belt) from the late 1890s until the close of the mines in 1973. It's a bit of history that should never be forgotten.