Monongah Mining disaster

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The Monongah Mine disaster of Monongah, West Virginia took place on December 6, 1907 and has been described as "the worst mining disaster in American History". The explosion was thought to have been caused by the ignition of methane (also called "black damp"), which ignited the coal dust in mines number 6 and 8.

Rescue workers could only work in the mines for 15 minutes due to the lack of breathing equipment. Some of those workers also perished due to the poisonous gas.

In all, the lives of 362 boys and men were lost in the underground explosion, leaving 250 widows and over 1000 children without support. The victims were actually 956, the vast majority of them (171) were Italians who had migrated from San Giovanni in Fiore, San Nicola dell’Alto, Falerna, Gizzeria, Civitella Roveto, Duronia, Civita d’Antino, Canistro, Torella del Santo and other villages in Calabria, Abruzzo and Molise.

A morgue was set up in the bank building to accommodate the victims. Hundreds of coffins lined Main Avenue in front of the building. The ruins of the coal mines have been sealed shut with brick. Many of the original mining homes were built on the hillside above the mine.

Reverend Everett Francis Briggs is the head of a Committee whose goal is to erect a statue as a tribute to the widows of the 1907 disaster and to coal miners’ widows everywhere. The statue will be made of Carrara marble and will be located near the Town Hall in Monongah.