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Boone Coal and Coke Company
Valley Mine Explosion

Hawks Nest, Fayette County, West Virginia
January 30, 1908
No. Killed - 9

USBM Final Investigation Report  (4.6 Mb)  PDF Format

Explosion in a West Virginia Mine Snuffs Out Nine Lives
The Mansfield News, Ohio
January 31, 1908

Charleston, W. Va., Jan. 31. -- Nine miners met sudden death in the New River Colliery known to miners as the "Lower Boone" mine, 45 miles from here, near Hawk's Nest, in an explosion that partly wrecked the mine.  It is stated that 25 men were in the mine at the time of the explosion, and nine lost their lives.  The others escaped with only slight injuries.

The dead:
  • Henry Holliday, mine boss, married
  • John Bowles, single
  • A. J. Wagles, single
  • Charles Casse, married
  • Wilbur Wilson, single
  • John Clark, married
  • Richard Myers, single
  • Travice Paught, single
  • Peter Barlow, single
The "Lower Boone" mine is the property of the Boone Coal and Coke Company, and was a small one.  Twenty-five is the largest number of men that ever worked in the shaft.




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