Special Collections Research Center, Morris Library
Coal Mining in Southern Illinois
The Special Collections Research Center (SCRC) in Morris Library holds the work of photographer C. William "Doc" Horrell. Horrell operated a photographic studio in Anna, Illinois and worked a key figure in the establishment of both Photographic Services and the Department of Cinema and Photography at Southern Illinois University Carbondale (SIUC). Horrell's images of "the land between the rivers" helped strengthen and preserve the regional identity of Southern Illinois. As a freelance photographer, he recorded the life and work of coal miners and provided important documentation of the coal industry in Southern Illinois....[read more].
Doc Horrell Biography
C. William "Doc" Horrell began taking photographs in 1936 when his mother gave him a $12 camera for graduation from high school in his hometown of Anna, Illinois. Doc quickly demonstrated a serious commitment to photography. Galled at the expense of having film processed for him, the budding photographer invested $3 in a basic film processing and printing kit. A walk-in closet in his mother’s house, unventilated and... [read more].