Death in the Mines: Disasters and Rescues in the Anthracite Coal Fields of Pennsylvania

Since 1870, mining disasters have claimed the lives of over 30,000 men and boys who toiled underground in the anthracite mines of Pennsylvania. The constant threat of fire, explosion, collapsed rock and deadly gas brought miners face to face with death on a daily basis. Sometimes they survived; many times they did not.

Through original journal and newspaper accounts, J. Stuart Richards’s Death in the Mines revisits Pennsylvania’s most notorious mining accidents and rescue attempts from 1869 to 1943. From the fire at Avondale Colliery that resulted in the first law for regulation and inspection of mines, to the gas explosion at Lytle Mine in Primrose that killed fourteen men, Richards reveals multiple facets of Pennsylvania’s most perilous profession. Richards, whose family has worked in the mines since 1870, offers a startling yet sensitive tribute to an industry and occupation that is often overlooked and underappreciated