Monongah : the tragic story of the worst industrial accident in US history / Davitt McAteer.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

McAteer, J. Davitt.

Series:

West Virginia and Appalachia ; 6.

West Virginia and Appalachia ; v. 6

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Monongah Mines Disaster, Monongah, W. Va., 1907.

Coal mine accidents--West Virginia.

Coal mine accidents.

Mine safety--Law and legislation.

History.

Coal mines and mining.

Mine explosions.

West Virginia.

Mine explosions--West Virginia.

Coal mines and mining--West Virginia--20th century.

Mine safety--Law and legislation--History.

Mine safety.

Marion County (W. Va.)--History--20th century.

Marion County (W. Va.).

Physical Description:

xi, 331 pages, 18 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations (some color), maps (some color) ; 24 cm.

Edition:

First edition.

Place of Publication:

Morgantown : West Virginia University Press, 2007.

Summary:

To commemorate the hundredth anniversary of the Monongah, West Virginia mine disaster, the West Virginia University Press is honored to release Davitt McAteer's definitive history of the worst industrial accident in US history. Monongah documents the events which led to the explosion that claimed hundreds of lives on the morning of December 6, 1907. Nearly thirty years of exhaustive research have led McAteer to the conclusion that close to 500 men and boys-many of them immigrants-lost their lives that day, leaving hundreds of women widowed and more than 1,000 children orphaned. McAteer delves deeply into the personalities, economic forces, and social landscape of the mining communities of north central West Virginia at the beginning of the twentieth century. The tragedy of Monongah led to a greater awareness of industrial working conditions, and ultimately to the Federal Coal Mine Health and Safety Act of 1969, which Davitt McAteer helped to enact.

Contents:

1 J. H. Leonard, Oiler for the No. 6 Mine 3

2 The Northern Coal Fields of West Virginia 7

3 Lester Emmitt Trader: Assistant Fire Boss at Age 22 17

4 The Company Men 27

5 The Mining Companies: The Early Years 36

6 The City of Mines 44

7 Immigrants Wanted 74

8 "Hire Bands or Anything That Is Necessary" 91

9 And The Explosion Came 114

10 Escape and Rescue 125

11 "They Are All Gone" 141

12 "We Know So Little About How These Explosions Occur" 158

13 The Monongah Mine Relief Fund in Aid of Sufferers from the Monongah Mine Explosion 171

14 Wheels of Justice 199

15 The Number 218

16 "An End to This Huge Loss and Waste" 242

17 The Conscience of a Nation 265

Individuals Mentioned in Monongah 301

Reprint of the Mines Relief Committee Report 316.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages [288]-300) and index.

ISBN:

1933202297

9781933202297

OCLC:

180014399