by Jim Ridings

Clarke City is back on the map.

The former coal town has a new restaurant that has brought back the name that first brought the area prosperity 130 years ago.

Clarke City Grille opened last week and has been doing a lively business. John and Anita Arthur bought the former Lakeside Grille and did an extensive renovation. They decided to change the name to honor the history of the area.

Clarke City was located near Essex and Reddick. A coal mine opened there shortly after coal was discovered in 1880. A town sprung up and had as many as 2,000 people at its peak. Mining ended in 1910, and the town declined very rapidly after that. A one-room schoolhouse continued into the 1950s. Today, the 21-acre town site is a farm field.

However, strip mining began after deep shaft mining ended. It is the lakes created by strip mining that make up the present Lake Shannon development, directly adjacent to the former Clarke City.

John Arthur originally is from Coal City. He worked as a production manager for Reichold in Morris, until the company transferred him to Pensacola, Fla. He  was  laid off in the current bad economy, so he decided to go into business for himself. His wife,  Anita, also works in the restaurant, as do their children and grandchildren.

Their daughter, Carrie, is married to Brandon Mere-dith, son of Lake Shannon owner Lloyd Meredith. Lloyd has been doing his part to restore the Clarke City identity for several years, putting the Clarke City name on the Lake Shannon post office building. The park office building is a small museum of old Clarke City artifacts.

Clarke City Grille also is a museum of sorts, with framed pictures of Clarke City sites and people covering the walls. The pictures were donated by the Herscher Area Historical Society.

Both Clarke City and Cardiff, another area coal town that is now gone, have people living where a town once was, and they are taking pride in their past.

Clarke City Grille is on the lake, with tables inside and outside. The view of the sand beach and the lake just outside the door gives the feeling of being on vacation.

To get there, take Route 17 between Dwight and Herscher and turn north on 19000 N. Road, then right on 3000 W. Road. The hours are 5 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesdays through Fridays, and 6 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays. The restaurant is closed on Mondays.