Recreational Land in Fulton County, Illinois: A Landscape Built by Reclaimed Strip Mines

A century of strip mining, and an unusual number of lakes to show for it

Coal mining near Cuba and Lewistown in Fulton County dates to at least 1859. But the defining feature of the county's mining history is the scale of its strip mining, which ran from the late 1880s through the mid-1980s. Because strip mining removes the surface layer to reach coal seams rather than tunneling beneath it, the pits it leaves behind tend to fill with groundwater -- and Fulton County accumulated an extraordinary number of them: 961 separate water-filled sites covering roughly 2,104 acres as of a 1962 count. Today, the county ranks second in Illinois with more than 2,500 water impoundments, according to Peoria Magazine's reporting on the region's post-mining landscape.

That's a genuinely different mining legacy from Illinois's deep-shaft coal counties, where the main long-term concern for a land buyer is underground subsidence risk. In Fulton County, the ground-level, visible result of a century of coal extraction is water -- hundreds of small ponds and several large reclaimed lakes scattered across the county, many of them now open to public recreation.

Two major reclaimed areas, now public hunting and fishing destinations

Banner Marsh State Fish and Wildlife Area, managed by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, covers roughly 4,363 acres straddling Fulton and Peoria Counties. An estimated 90% of the area was strip-mined for coal from the late 1880s to the mid-1980s before reclamation; today it offers more than 2,400 acres of water with good-to-very-good fishing for bass, crappie, and muskie, plus paddling access across its numerous small ponds.

Double T State Fish and Wildlife Area, roughly 1,961 acres, was established in 2001 on former strip-mined land and continues to undergo remediation as of the most recent reporting found. Together, Banner Marsh and Double T represent a meaningful share of Fulton County's public outdoor recreation acreage -- and both exist specifically because reclamation converted mined-out land into wildlife habitat rather than leaving it as scattered private hazard sites.

What this means for a land buyer

If you're looking at recreational land in Fulton County -- whether for personal hunting and fishing, a small family retreat, or income-producing recreational leasing -- proximity to Banner Marsh, Double T, or one of the county's many smaller private reclaimed-mine ponds is worth factoring into your search directly, since public access at these two IDNR areas draws hunting and fishing pressure that can affect the appeal (and value) of nearby private parcels in either direction: some buyers want to be next to a major public wildlife area for the habitat and hunting-lease potential, while others prefer distance from public-access traffic.

A private pond or small lake on a Fulton County parcel is more likely than in most Illinois counties to be a reclaimed strip-mine pit rather than a natural or constructed farm pond -- worth asking about directly, since reclaimed mine pits can vary widely in depth, water quality, and bank stability depending on how (and when) they were reclaimed. And because the county is one of the 34 Illinois counties in which mine subsidence insurance is statutorily mandatory (215 ILCS 5, Article XXXVIIIA), any structure you plan to build near a former mining area should carry that coverage as a matter of course -- confirm it with your insurer regardless of how the surface looks today.

• Ask directly whether a pond or lake on the property is a reclaimed strip-mine pit, and if so, when reclamation occurred
• Check proximity to Banner Marsh or Double T if public-access hunting/fishing pressure (for or against) matters to your plans
• Confirm mine subsidence insurance is included in your property insurance quote before closing
• For a parcel intended for a hunting lease or recreational income use, ask a local outfitter or real estate agent familiar with the reclaimed-mine market about typical lease rates in the area