In the 1860s, the potential for deadly mine disasters stalked the collieries of Pennsylvania’s Coal Region. Such a disaster took place near Minersville on Friday, October 28, 1864.
After a fire had broken out in the mine of George H. Potts & Co. two days earlier, six miners descended into the workings to clear the damage and prepare the mine to work again the following week. These men were never heard from again.
The Miners’ Journal of Pottsville told the story of the mining accident in its November 5, 1864 edition:
Terrible Mining Accident – Death of Six Miners, and Injury to Several Others –
A terrible accident happened on Friday of last week at the red ash colliery of George H. Potts & Co., near Minersville, which resulted in the death of six miners and injury of others who attempted to rescue them.
It seems that on Wednesday afternoon the miners made a blast in one of the breasts to cause a fall of coal. The fire by some means communicated to the combustible matter of the mine, driving the miners out of the mine.
On Friday, six miners named Thomas Richards and David Williams; Welshmen; Joseph Bearman, a German; and Robert Duff, Michael Finney, and Michael Scully, Irishmen, went into the mine to clear away the rubbish.
Their prolonged absence created alarm and fear that something had happened to them, and other miners sent in to see what was the matter, were prostrated by the noxious gas that filled the place, and were with difficulty dragged alive from the mine.
Finally, on Saturday morning, the dead bodies of the six men named above, were found and taken from the mine.
The Coroner held an inquest on Sunday last, and a verdict was rendered that the deceased came to their deaths from suffocation.
All of the unfortunate men were steady, industrious miners, and some of them leave families. Scully was the father of 21 children by one wife.
Disasters like there were common in Schuylkill County during the Civil War-era, just a few years before state mining regulations were brought into effect to make working conditions safer and more standardized across the region.
Read more about mining in Schuylkill County during the Civil War
A horrifying mining accident in Schuylkill County | July 1864
Failure and bankruptcy loomed over coal operators in 19th century Schuylkill County
The Pioneer” – Ashland’s Pioneer Colliery in 1864
“Assaults upon the senses” – The sights and sounds of the Coal Region in the 19th century
Subscribe to the latest from Jake Wynn – Public Historian
Enter your email below to receive the newest stories.