MARYVILLE, Illinois — Maryville's police station has shifted almost 10 inches since employees first discovered cracking and flooding in 2015.
"The ramp is entirely cracked all the way across," Maryville Police Chief Rob Carpenter said, pointing to a thin line that crawls across a wheelchair ramp before splitting and climbing along the walls.
To find out what's behind the damage, you have to look back to the founding of this village.
Maryville was built — literally and figuratively — on its principal industry: mining.
"Madison County is completely undermined with coal mines, which Maryville is no exception," Mayor Craig Short said.
Shortlists of the damage — including "cracks in the walls, carpet pulling apart, doors that stick" — all caused as the municipal buildings settle into the mine below them, Donk Brothers Mine No. 2, which closed in the 1920s.
"We were known for mining, now we're known for mine subsidence," Short said.
Short said Maryville is not eligible for the Illinois Mine Subsidence Insurance Fund because their properties are valued over the maximum limit of $750,000.
"With the three buildings, we're in excess of about $400k and we're still moving," Short said.
Illinois State Geological Survey has created an interactive mapping tool for anyone who may be concerned about mine subsidence.