Over two hundred persons were killed when a mine exploded in the small village of Scofield on May 1st, 1900. Once the location of family burial sites, this little cemetery quickly turned into a field of several tombstones with the same date on them. As one of the worst mining disaster in history occurred, the once-obscure Utah mining town attracted international notice. The explosion, that happened when an excessive amount of coal dust ignited within the mine, killed all of the men who worked there.
Hearing the explosion but not knowing where it happened, the guys in the Number One mine attempted to evacuate via the quickest route and were thus exposed to the fatal gas. The official death toll was 200, when rescuers extracted bodies from the tunnels. Miners and others estimated a death toll of up to 246. The Scofield accident, with 200 deaths, was the most disastrous coal mine disaster in American history up to that point.
The Scofield Mine disaster
Scofield is a small mining community in Carbon County that is near to the Winter Quarters mine. At 10:25 a.m., 200 men were killed and seven injured in an explosion that came from No. 4 mine. 103 guys emerged from the No. 1 mine that connected to No. 4 mine without any injuries, and two men emerged from No. 4 mine without any injuries. At the beginning of the “Pike’s Peak” portion, there was an explosion.
A windy or blown-out shot or an unintentional black powder explosion were the causes. A portion of the explosion passed through No. 1 mine and No. 4 tunnel and airshaft before shooting out to the surface. The disaster claimed the lives of 200 to 246 persons. Explosion occurred in the Number 4 shaft of the Winter Quarters Mine. The Winter Quarters mine is located west of Scofield, southeast of Provo. Those who perished in Number 1 were poisoned by carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide, rather than getting killed instantly.
There were more dead than coffins available, so many had to be brought from Denver. Outside the mine, casualties include workers like John Wilson, who was at the mine’s mouth at the time of the explosion. Wilson was hurled 820 feet and discovered laying against a tree. Special trains were dispatched from Salt Lake City to transport the injured and those whose dead will be buried elsewhere.
William Sharp, the corporate manager, travelled by train from Salt Lake City with numerous physicians to help the injured. Not burnt, but suffocated by the afterdamp were sixty guys. No explosive gases have ever been known to exist in the mines before to or during the explosion. Without enough moisture to maintain the dust’s moisture content, no mine is safe.
Backstory and Context
The area was first inhabited as range land suitable for cattle ranching, but its coal wealth soon became apparent to the residents. Mining and railway corporations were drawn to this and exploited those riches. As coal mining expanded, so did the population. A town company was authorized by the county clerk on March 8, 1892, and an official government was founded on March 15, 1893 Scofield became a town.
One of the most productive coal mines in Utah at the time was located near Scofield. A huge explosion was felt and heard across the town on May 1, 1900, at around 10:15 a.m. Word spread that the Number Four Mine had exploded. When the first explosion took place, John Wilson, a worker at the Winter Quarters Mine, was waiting outside the mine’s entrance. The blast’s sheer force then threw him 820 feet. Whether or whether he truly survived the encounter is unknown.
Cause of disaster
The morning of May 1, 1900 started as any other routine day for the miners in Scofield, Utah. Many miners were looking forward to the May Day celebrations later in the day. Although the actual cause of the explosion has never been determined, many feel the disaster might have been avoided if the Pleasant Valley Coal Company had established safety measures and taken more precautions.
The Winter Quarters mine demonstrates how risky mining was as a career and how much workers had to give up for a living. Many people today recall the Scofield mining accident as a horrific occurrence that exemplifies the cruel exploitation of working-class people in the twentieth century.
After- Scofield Mine disaster
As the list of deceased was updated, the death tolls published in the press varied regularly, ranging from 150 to 250. News reports stated that some 100 miners were killed instantaneously in the initial blast. The others perished from blast-related injuries or hypoxia from carbon monoxide. There were 200 fatalities in the end. The death of so many dads, sons, and spouses was deeply felt by the people of Scofield. President McKinley wrote to the people of Scofield to express his sorrow for this tragedy, that stunned the nation.
The horrible disaster also prompted French President Loubet to offer his sympathies. Many locales throughout Utah hosted funeral services for the miners. Miners from all around the world found their final resting place in the Scofield Cemetery. This event undoubtedly made Scofield, Utah a landmark, even though it only makes up a small portion of the cemetery’s history.