Baltimore Mine Tunnel Disaster
Wilkes-Barre, Luzerne County, Pennsylvania
Marker Inscription
Near here, on June 5, 1919, an explosion and fire in the Baltimore Mine Tunnel killed 92 and injured 60 when a fallen trolley wire contacted a cart carrying miners and kegs of blasting powder. One of the deadliest industrial disasters in Pa. history, it attracted international media and organized labor attention. A resulting US Bureau of Mines investigation led to the prohibition of transporting miners and explosives in the same rail car.
Erected by Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission
The Story
On June 5, 1919, disaster struck beneath the anthracite fields near Wilkes-Barre when a fallen trolley wire touched a cart carrying miners along with kegs of blasting powder, triggering an explosion and fire in the Baltimore Mine Tunnel. Ninety-two men were killed and sixty injured, making it one of the deadliest industrial catastrophes in Pennsylvania history and drawing international press and labor attention. A U.S. Bureau of Mines investigation followed, leading to a ban on hauling miners and explosives in the same rail car.
Why it matters
The tragedy stands for the terrible human cost of the coal age and how such losses forced the safety reforms that slowly made America's mines less lethal.
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Related events
- · Baltimore Mine Tunnel Disaster
Themes & tags
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