Nineteenth-century History

The Scofield Mine Disaster

The day of May 1, 1900 started off as any other ordinary day for the miners in Scofield, Utah. Early in the morning, the men and boys kissed their wives and mothers good-bye as they left for a hard day’s work in the mines. Later in the day was to be festivities celebrating May Day, to which many of the miners were looking forward. None could predict that many of the miners would not live to see later in the day.

At around 10:28 AM, there was a very loud noise that came from mine No. 4 — one of the two mines belonging to the Pleasant Valley Coal Company at Winter Quarters. Many people in the town heard the blast, but thought it was fireworks for the celebration later in the day. Mine employees not working in the mine realized it was something more serious, however. One of the employees was mine superintendent T.J. Parmley who put together a search and rescue party to go into the mines. What the team found was death and devastation.

The aftermath of the explosionAlthough the cause for the explosion is not known for certain, there is speculation that blasting powder exploded and set off a chain reaction when highly explosive coal dust — which the mine was covered with — blew up following the initial blast. When the rescue team got to the entrance to mine No. 4, they found it had been completely blocked with debris. When the entrance was finally cleared, they found the mine to be a death trap. Those who had survived the initial blast were suffocating from the “afterdamp” which consists of toxic gases combined with a lack of oxygen. Miners in adjourning mine No. 1 were not affected to the same degree by the blast, but they soon had to evacuate the mine due to poisonous gases escaping from mine No. 4.

A father and sonBy the end of the day, the body count had reached 200 victims. There were more bodies than available coffins and several had to imported from Denver. Casualties outside the mine itself include workers such as John Wilson who had been at the mouth of the mine at the time of the explosion. Wilson was flung 820 feet and was found lying against a tree.

Special trains were sent from Salt Lake City to retrieve the injured and those whose bodies would be laid to rest elsewhere. William Sharp, the company manager, also came by train from Salt Lake City with several doctors to assist the injured. When President William McKinley received news of the explosion, he wired his condolences:

“I desire to express my intense sorrow upon learning of the terrible calamity which has occurred at Scofield, and my deep sympathy with the wives, children and friends of the unfortunate victims of the explosion.”

Burial service for the victimsThe explosion affected everyone in Scofield. There was not a single family who did not have at least one loss. The Scofield mine disaster was the worst tragedy in American history up until that time. Four days after the incident, on May 5, two massive funerals were held in Scofield for the victims: one was a Lutheran service and the other was a Mormon service.

Harry Taylor, a lucky miner who survived with only injuries, recalls,

Victims\' Coffins“I was repairing some track out on the dump when I started toward the mouth of the tunnel to get some tools. I got about fifty feet away from the tunnel mouth when suddenly there was an awful report and at the same time a black cloud, filled with rocks, bore down on me. I felt several small rocks strike me and then I felt a jolt on my side and then – then I came away.

“The next thing I knew I woke with a man pouring some brandy down my throat, and I saw the boys lying all around me moaning for help. We were fixed up and put on the train.”

How would you rate this post?
Post a Comment

Your email is kept private. Required fields are marked *

*
*

You may use these HTML tags and attributes: <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <s> <strike> <strong>

Explore History Rhymes
Random Featured Articles
Nineteenth Century German History: Conclusion

Nineteenth Century German History: Conclusion

Germany in the nineteenth century was a place of unimaginable political unrest. The collapse of the Holy Roman Empire at the beginning of the century set the precedent for how the political scene of most of the rest of the century would play out. It would be chaotic, unnavigable and yet somehow the ...
New Series: Kings of Bavaria

New Series: Kings of Bavaria

As my research has recently taken me in a new direction, I’ve decided to start a new multi-part series about it. For my dissertation, I will be researching the relationships between the Bavarian aristocracy and monarchy in the nineteenth century. The Kings of Bavaria will feature all of the Ba...
Indians and the Imperial Powers of Europe

Indians and the Imperial Powers of Europe

At the university library, I came across a book by the title A Companion to The American West, edited by William Deverell, and have been slowly working my way through it. The book is a series of essays that talk about what the American west is, how the west is defined and how the definition...
The Modocs – History and Culture of the Modocs (Part 1)

The Modocs – History and Culture of the Modocs (Part 1)

In the woods in southern Oregon, a man quietly stalks a deer. The summer weather is brutally hot and he sweats profusely. The man is careful to avoid making any sort of noise and is weary not to let his game out of sight. The deer stops in a small clearing and it is the...