“Crushed by the powerful machinery…” | A horrific mining accident in Schuylkill County, PA in 1859

Mineworker at the top of a coal breaker in Scranton Pennsylvania Coal Region History Jake Wynn Public History Close

In 1859 at Tuckerville Colliery in Schuylkill County, 32-year-old Irish mineworker John Hinch was pulled headfirst into the breaker rollers - an unthinkable death reported in chilling detail by the Miners’ Journal. His story lays bare the daily peril of Coal Region work before safety laws existed. Read the full story.