Memorial Museum of
Mining and Labor
Lucas, Iowa
Located 2 blocks North of Junction of Highway 34 and 65.
The museum is accessible to the handicapped, with heating and air conditioning, rest rooms, display areas, library and a theater where video tapes relating to Mr. Lewis, mining and labor may be viewed. The museum was erected in part, with a grant from the Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs. Members of the Central Iowa Building and Trades Council donated labor, and contributions came from labor unions on the International, State and Local Union levels. Friends, community and former residents of Lucas, Iowa also donated money and labor to help make the museum a reality.
John L. Lewis
1880-1969
John L. Lewis was born February 12, 1880, to Welsh immigrant parents, in the coal mining camp of Cleveland, Iowa -- a mile east of Lucas. "John L." began work in the "BIG HILL" Mine in Lucas as a teenager, joining UMWA Local #799 in 1900. Myrta Bell, a daughter of a local physician, married John L. Lewis in 1907. The following year they moved to the coal fields of Illinois, where he began his rise to power in the United mine Workers of America. He served as their president for forty years and was a founder of the Congress of Industrial Organizations.
Lewis died in June of 1969 and is buried in Springfield, Illinois, in the same cemetery as Abraham Lincoln. Both men were born on February 12 and were destined to make great changes in our American Way of Life.
The John L. Lewis Commission, organized in 1986, is a non-profit corporation formed to establish a memorial to a famous native some of Lucas, Iowa and to aid in the renovation of this small town. The museum is owned and maintained by the John L. Lewis Commission, Inc. Monthly meetings are held on the second Tuesday at 7 p. m. in the museum. Officers and directors are chosen at the annual meeting in July. Yearly membership dues are $2.00. For information concerning memorials or contributions, write to:
Treasurer, John L. Lewis Commission, Inc.
P.O. Box 3
Lucas, Iowa 50151