Directly south of Corral Bluffs is the abandoned Franceville Coal Mine. Matt France (1830-1900), an 1860s pioneer who was Colorado Springs' first telegraph operator and a member of the city's first town board was a cattle rancher who later owned the Franceville Coal Mine.

The Franceville Coal Mine was opened in 1882 and was the first major mining operation in the Colorado Springs area. The workable coal ranged from six to ten feet in thickness.  The coal was used largely for domestic purposes, but significant amounts were used by the railroads, the Colorado Springs Electric Company, and by the gold reduction mills in Colorado City and Cripple Creek. The Franceville Mine ceased operations following the floods of the summer of 1965.