Monongah Heroine Statue

On December 6th, at 10:20 in the morning, there occurred at Monongah, six miles from Fairmont, the worst catastrophe in The history of coal mining in West Virginia or in any other section of the world. It was an explosion in mines Nos. 6 and 8 of the Fairmont Coal Company, which completely wrecked the mines and snuffed out the lives of almost four hundred men. The worst of the explosion occurred in the No. 8 mine and so great was its force that the concrete roof of the engine house was torn into fragments and one piece, weighing more than 100 pounds, was blown more than 500 yards. The victims came to their deaths suddenly. Many were found sitting upright in the positions they were in when the explosion came with its spread of deadly gases. The scenes at the mines during the work of rescue were pitiful in the extreme. For several days frantic women grouped about the opening of the mines and their shrieks of agony were enough to move the hardest heart to pity. Grief-stricken mothers, wives, sweethearts and sisters waited and watched and wept. Some prayed, some sung, and some, in their very ecstasy of sorrow, became hysterical and laughed.

Accessed February 4th 2021. http://www.wvculture.org/history/disasters/monongah03.html.