A black historical marker commemorates John L. Lewis, the foremost national labor leader, born near Lucas, Iowa, and a Welsh immigrant miner, at age 16. He began work in the coal mines in 1880 and was elected the united mine workers' delegate in 1916. Lewis rose quickly in the organization, culminating in his election as president in 1920, and joined with others in 1938 to form the Congress of Industrial Organizations, which later merged with the American Federation of Labor. Lewis was known to millions of Americans, who either loved or hated him for his activities in the coal mines.