The 1908 mine explosion that killed 154 men still haunts this Pennsylvania town

Marianna Coal Mine Disaster

The Marianna mine was built to be the safest in the world, toured by presidents and mining experts. That meant nothing when gas exploded on November 28, 1908, killing 154 men in minutes.

One survivor, Fred Elinger, woke up unconscious with his clothes torn off and coal peppered through his skin.

The blast changed mining safety forever. Here’s what happened in Washington County’s deadliest day, now marked by a memorial you can visit.

Coal Operators Built a Model Mining Town

The Pittsburgh-Buffalo Company spent four years building the Marianna complex from 1903 to 1907. Workers dug three shafts into the coal seam, naming them Rachel, Agnes, and Blanche.

Unlike most mining towns, Marianna featured brick homes with indoor bathrooms. This comfort level stood out when most miners lived in basic company housing. Even President Theodore Roosevelt visited to see what many called the world’s safest, most modern mine.

Welsh Immigrant Family Created Mining Empire

James Jones left Wales in 1858, walking 80 miles from Maryland to Pittsburgh seeking work. After various jobs and Civil War service, he began investing in coal during the 1870s. His five sons later joined him, forming the Pittsburgh-Buffalo Company in 1903.

They bought 6,000 acres in Washington County for mining. David Jones, the company secretary, named the town after his wife Mary Ann Feehan Jones.

Mine Passed Inspection Days Before Blast

State inspector Henry Louttit spent two days checking the Marianna mine right before the disaster. He found nothing wrong with safety conditions or equipment.

Miners entered the shafts that Saturday morning believing the workplace was safe. Louttit himself had barely left the mine when the explosion happened.

His approval made the disaster even more shocking to officials and families who trusted the mine’s safety reputation.

Saturday Morning Turns Catastrophic

November 28 began as a normal workday at Marianna. Miners arrived carrying lunch pails, ready to dig coal deep underground. The mine held more workers than usual that morning.

Men from the night shift remained below while day shift miners went down the shafts. At 10:55 a.m., a massive explosion shook the ground. People miles away heard the blast as dust and debris shot from the mine openings.

One Man Survived the Catastrophe

Fred Elinger worked as a bricklayer inside the mine when he felt something strange just before the explosion. The blast threw him across the tunnel and tore off his clothes. Coal fragments peppered his body.

Burns covered his face and eyes. The heat singed away his hair. Doctors thought he would die from his injuries, but Elinger survived after rescuers pulled him from the mine ten hours after the explosion.

Rescuers Race Against Time

News spread quickly, bringing rescue teams from nearby towns to Marianna. Workers went down damaged shafts in iron buckets, searching for survivors among the wreckage. Fallen rock, twisted metal, and coal blocked passages throughout the mine.

Rescuer Thomas Carney pushed deeper than others, wearing an oxygen helmet to breathe in the toxic air. He found Fred Elinger alive at 8:55 p.m. and brought the sole survivor to the surface.

Bodies Recovered From Underground Tomb

Recovery teams worked for four days bringing bodies to the surface. Families waited at the mine entrance, hoping their loved ones might have survived.

The conditions underground were so horrible that rescue workers refused to describe what they saw.

Many bodies were damaged beyond recognition. About 60 miners who could not be identified were buried together at Scenery Hill cemetery.

Families Left Without Fathers and Sons

The disaster created instant widows and orphans. One woman rushed to Marianna from Monongahela after learning three of her sons worked in the mine. Another woman collapsed when she heard her husband and two sons had died in the explosion.

About half the miners were immigrants who had left families in their home countries. Many households lost their only income provider, leaving families with no means of support.

Searching for Answers About the Explosion

Investigators blamed coal dust for the disaster. Tiny coal particles floating in recently blasted tunnels created perfect conditions for an explosion when sparked. Some officials suggested natural gas caused the blast.

Superintendent Kightlinger noted that workers had hit a dangerous gas pocket while drilling nearby the previous year. Despite finding these likely causes, the official investigation blamed no one and only suggested general safety improvements.

Tragedy Drives New Safety Standards

The Marianna disaster added to public anger about dangerous mining conditions. It came just a year after 362 miners died in West Virginia’s Monongah disaster. The growing outrage pushed Congress to establish the United States Bureau of Mines in 1910.

This agency became the first to focus on mine safety nationwide. Scientists developed safer blasting materials and methods to prevent gas and dust explosions, gradually reducing mining deaths over the following decades.

Visiting Marianna, Pennsylvania

You can find Marianna in Washington County, Pennsylvania, about 30 miles south of Pittsburgh. The historical marker commemorating the mine disaster appears at the intersection of Maple Street and Mine Access Road.

While in town, you can explore the remaining yellow brick buildings from the original company town. Though the mine complex no longer exists, you can walk the streets where mining families once lived.

The cemetery at Scenery Hill contains a mass grave of unidentified miners from the disaster.

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