Darr Mine disaster
The Darr Mine disaster at Van Meter, Rostraver Township, Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, near Smithton, killed 239 men and boys on December 19, 1907.[1] It ranks as the worst coal mining disaster in Pennsylvanian history.[2] Many victims were of immigrants from central Europe, including Rusyns, Hungarians (including Slovaks from Gemer and Abov - then part of Austria-Hungary), Austrians, Germans, Poles and Italians.[3][4][5]
An inquiry carried out after the disaster determined that the blast was the result of miners carrying open lamps in an area cordoned off the previous day by the fire boss. The mine’s owner, the Pittsburgh Coal Company was not held responsible but abandoned the use of open lamps after the disaster.
The Darr Mine blast was the third major mine disaster in December 1907 (which would become the deadliest mine fatality month in US history); it followed Yolande mine in Alabama explosion on December 16,[6] the Monongah Mining disaster in West Virginia on December 6 that killed 362 miners and the Naomi Mine explosion on December 1 that killed 34 people in Fayette City, Pennsylvania.[7]
References
- ^ "Mine Explosion Entombs 250 Men" (PDF). The New York Times. 1907-12-20. p. 1. Retrieved May 24, 2009.
- ^ "Darr Mine Explosion". Retrieved 2016-05-22.
- ^ "Darr Mine Disaster Historical Marker". explorepahistory.com. Retrieved 2021-12-16.
- ^ "Remembering the Darr Mine Disaster: the American Hungarian Federation – Founded 1906". www.americanhungarianfederation.org. Retrieved 2021-12-16.
- ^ "Centennial—Jacobs Creek".
- ^ "Los Angeles Herald 17 December 1907 – California Digital Newspaper Collection". cdnc.ucr.edu.
- ^ "Naomi Mine Victims. 34 Dead in Pennsylvania – 28 found" (PDF). New York Times (December 8). 1907. Retrieved 2008-11-08.
External links
Media related to Darr Mine disaster at Wikimedia Commons
- Darr Mine Disaster, December 19, 1907, Jacobs Creek / Van Meter, Rostraver Twp., Westmoreland Co., PA
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