Ladd, Illinois

The settlement was originally named Osgood after the manager of the Whitebreast Fuel Company. The Whitebreast Fuel Company, based in Ottumwa, Iowa was the major coal supplier for the Chicago, Burlington, and Quincy Railroad. They set up the town in 1888. Ladd was incorporated on June 7, 1890, and was founded by George D. Ladd, a resident of Peru, Illinois. Ladd was originally named Laddville. The Ladd mine went bankrupt in 1901 and was purchased by the Illinois Third Vein Coal Company, owned by Samuel Dalzell of Spring Valley. At its height, the mine employed over 700 men and took an average of 1200 tons of coal a day from the ground.