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| Uniondale, Dunbar Twp., Fayette Co.,
PA [A coal company patch town in Dunbar Twp., Fayette County, Pennsylvania.] [Located on the Southwest Pennsylvania Division of the Pennsylvania Railroad and the Fairmont & Morgantown Branch of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad.] See: Uniondale Mine & Coke Works, Uniondale, Dunbar Twp., Fayette Co., PA
Uniondale Mine & Coke Works
(ca.1869-1900), |
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| Uniontown 1903, 15min Quad Map, showing the location of
the Uniondale Mine & Coke Works, at Uniondale, Dunbar Twp., Fayette
Co., PA. (Map courtesy of the U.S. Geological Survey, Washington D.C.) |
| HISTORY:
March 8, 1886, an explosion occurred in the Uniondale Mine that killed 6 miners. Dunbar, PA Coal Mine Explosion, Mar 1886
THREE BLASTS OF FIRE DAMP. Connellsville, Pa., March 8. -- Shortly after noon today a series of explosions took place in the Uniondale mine at Dunbar, four miles from here, by which two men were killed and twelve others received injuries which will prove fatal in at least four cases. The cause of the explosion was fire damp. There were twenty-three men in the pit, nine of whom managed to escape uninjured. The first explosion occurred about 12:30 o'clock this afternoon. It was a terrific shock and was followed by two others in quick succession a few minutes later. The first explosions caused the death of two men and injured three. The rest ran toward the mouth of the pit, but before they reached it the explosions occurred. There was an upheaval of earth, coal dust and other debris, the lights were blown out, the dust blinded the men and the passageways were blocked up and cut off all escape. The pit was on fire and a horrible death awaited the imprisoned miners. None of them who had been working in the other entry managed to make their way out before the mouth of the pit was chucked up. The force of the explosion caused the men in the Morrell, Calvin and Wheeler, the adjoining mines, to drop their tools and rush panic stricken to the top, imagining that the pits were being lifted heavenward. The ground rolled up and quaked so that many fell down, and three or four in the Merrill mine, which connects with the Uniondale, were violently thrown against the walls and seriously injured. Everybody rushed toward the Uniondale mine.
COLUMBUS SHAY, of the Mahoning works, and JAMES HENDERSON,
of the Calvin mine, headed a rescuing party and went to the works with picks
and shovels to force an entrance to their ill-fated companions. In a few
moments an opening was inside and several rushed forward to enter the mine,
but when repelled by a volume of flame. It took several minutes for the smoke
and fire to clear away, and the rescuers were compelled to wait. The cries
of pain and moans of the injured were pitiable. They were lying in every
direction buried under masses of debris. Several of them were horribly burned.
Their sufferings were terrible. Twelve of them were found almost in a dying
condition and two others were dead -- mangled almost into an unrecognizable
mass. The names of those killed are JOHN WILLIAMS, a trackman, aged 45, married,
and JOSEPH COPE, miner, aged 50, married. |
| Coal Miners
Memorial Uniondale Mine & Coke Works, Uniondale, Dunbar Twp., Fayette Co., PA
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| Support the Coal & Coke Heritage
Center, a non-profit research center and museum. Want to know more about the women who lived in the coal patch towns? You need this book. One of the few studies done on the women of the coal & coke era. Common lives of Uncommon Strength: The Women of the Coal & Coke Era of Southwestern Pennsylvania 1880-1970 Complied, written and edited by: Evelyn A. Hovanec, PhD 227 pages. Voices of the women tell unique stores of the coal and coke era, plus vintage photographs, documents, maps, and newspaper articles. Hardcover $35.00 Soft cover $25.00 Add $5.00 shipping / handling. Send Check or money order to: Coal & Coke Heritage Center, Penn State University Fayette Campus P.O. Box 519, Uniontown, PA 15401 |
| To Select another Index to Fayette County Coal Mines Click on the Larry cars for Index Page or on a Letter below |
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| Select another Index to the Coal Mines
of Fayette County, Pennsylvania [Click on a letter to take you to that Index]
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