Mine Safety Training Repository
united states mine rescue association
Mine Disasters in the United States

Tank's Poetry


Father Time
See more disasters
from this year
Calendar Image
Mine Disaster Calendar

Nelson Creek Coal Company
Nelson Mine Explosion

Nelson Creek, Muhlenberg County, Kentucky
February 16, 1926
No. Killed - 8



Rescuer Deaths

Immediately after the blast, Cecil Fulkerson, manager, led a squad of rescue men into the pit.  With him were Archie and Leonard Huter and George Brandon, Jr., whose fathers were killed in the explosion.  Archie Huter, Brandon, and two others were asphyxiated by blackdamp.  Fulkerson and Leonard Huter were overcome by the gas and their condition was serious.


Seven Men Killed in Mine Explosion
Nevada State Journal, Reno, NV
February 17, 1926

Central City, Ky., Feb. 16. -- Seven men lost their lives as a result of an explosion late today in the Nelson Creek Coal Company mine, six miles north of here.

Three of them were killed by the blast and four, including sons of two of the victims, gave their lives in the rescue work.  The six remaining members of the rescue squad of ten were gassed, two of them so seriously they are not expected to live.  Peter Huter, George Brandon, and Mathew King were killed outright.

Immediately after the blast, Cecil Fulkerson, manager, led a squad of rescue men into the pit.  With him were Archie and Leonard Huter and George Brandon, Jr., whose fathers were killed in the explosion.  Archie Huter, Brandon, and two others were asphyxiated by blackdamp.  Fulkerson and Leonard Huter were overcome by the gas and their condition was serious.

A "solid" shot was the cause of the explosion.  All of the bodies were recovered.


The Deceased:
  • Brandon, Carl, 18
  • Brandon, George, 42
  • Huter, Archie, 30
  • Huter, Leonard, 27
  • Huter, Peter, 54
  • King, Mathew, 45
  • Richardson, Thomas, 36
  • Woodruff, Gobe, 38




See more about these products