1907 — Dec 16, “Windy shot” & dust explosion, Yolande No. 1 Coal Mine, Yolande, AL-~57

— 60 Evening News, Roanoke, VA. “Awful Slaughter of Men in Mines,” 12-23-1907, p. 1.
–~60 Logansport Semi-Weekly Reporter, IN. “Sixty Men Perish in Mine Explosion,” 12-20-1907, 1.
–~57 Ludlam. “Yolande coal mine disaster is recalled.” Tuscaloosa News, AL. 3-1-1978, p.53.
— 57 National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, CDC. Mine Disasters.
— 57 US Mine Rescue Assoc. Mine Disasters… “Yolande Coal and Coke…Mine Explosion.”
— 56 Fleming. “Organization of Safety Work in Mines.” Safety Engineering, 26/2, 1913, 108.
— 56 USGS. Mineral Resources of the United States Calendar Year 1908, Part II. 1909, p. 53.
— 50 Cullman Times Democrat, AL. “Explosion in Yolande: Fifty Miners Killed.” 12-19-1907, p. 2.

Narrative Information

Ludlam: “….what happened at Yolande, Tuscaloosa County, on Dec. 16, 1907 is a true story. Carlton Jackson, professor of history at Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green, has been researching coal mine explosions that occurred in the United States in December, 1907. According to a letter from Jackson, that is ‘the most disastrous month in U.S. coal mining history.’

“According to reports which have been gathered by Jackson, approximately 57 persons lost their lives in the mine explosion at Yolande, located just inside the Tuscaloosa County line about 35 miles south of Birmingham….

“Professor Jackson feels that the disaster could have been caused by great carelessness on the part of the workers. Explaining the process used to ‘blow out the coal’, he said that miners drilled two or three feet into the face of the mine. They then put black powder at the bottom of the hole and ran out a fuse. This is referred to as tamping, and if not done properly, the end result was a flame along with the desired explosion, he said.

“Jackson explained that if the mine was not tamped with the proper materials then the coal dust in the atmosphere would cause a type of chair reaction….

“According to Jackson, the explosion probably was caused by coal dust in the mine. He said conditions in the mine probably were similar to that in a grain elevator, and this type of explosion is similar to the recent grain elevator explosions….” (Ludlam, Dianne. “Yolande coal mine disaster is recalled.” Tuscaloosa News, AL. 3-1-1978, p. 53.)

Dec 16, NYT: “Birmingham, Ala., Dec. 16. — About seventy-five men are buried in No. 1 mine of the Yolande Coal and Coke Company at Yolande, thirty-five miles south of Birmingham, in Tuscaloosa County, following and explosion today. Ninety men were checked in for work. Within an hour after the explosion seventeen men had crawled out of the mine, all burned. Thirty-five dead bodies had been recovered up to dark.

“While officials of the company are hoping for the best, the rescue party is forcing its way into the mines. It is feared that few of those still entombed will escape death. Little houses just outside the mines were destroyed by the immense amount of dust and timber blown out of the mines. A relief train and mine inspectors went to the scene this afternoon. Sixty coffins were prepared to be sent to Yolande.

“The work of recovery is slow, and while hundreds of miners from adjacent mining camps are present to assist, it is thought that all of the dead cannot be taken out before two days.

“The mine inspectors have concluded that the explosion was caused by a “windy shot” bringing about a dust explosion. For two hours after the explosion it was impossible to venture even near the mouth of the mine, so hot was the air that rushed out.

“The explosion was below the second right sub-entry. The mines go down something like 1,500 feet. There was a terrific explosion, the force being made known outside by the dust and timbers that were blown out in great quantities, destroying small buildings nearby and landing some distance away. There was a terrific heat near the shaft after the explosion.

“Officers of the mining company immediately took steps to start a rescue party to get to the men on the inside. The fans were started, and other means employed to eliminate the bad air. Within an hour seventeen men had crawled out of the mine, and their description of the interior conditions was terrible. Several of these men were severely burned.

“Among the dead taken out early was Robert Arnold, the bank boss and Assistant Superintendent of the Yolande Company….

“Yolande Mine is a few miles from Virginia City, where a similar explosion occurred two years ago when 112 men were killed. The Yolande Coal and Coke Company, owner of the mine, is headed by Dr. G. B. Crowe of Birmingham.

“The mine is among the model collieries of the Birmingham region. Non-union men were employed exclusively, but everything possible had been done to insure the contentment of employees. Yolande is situated on a beautiful hill, and all the houses are painted white with green trimmings, giving it an air of picturesqueness and healthfulness unusual in mining quarters.” (New York Times. “75 Men Entombed by Mine Explosion.” 12-17-1907.)

Dec 17: “Birmingham, Ala., Dec. 17. – Advices from Yolande indicated that about 60 men met death by an explosion in the mines at that place Monday morning. The recovery is very slow, though hundreds of miners from the adjacent mining camps are present to assist. Thirty-five bodies had been recovered up to Monday evening [16th]….

“Less than 100 men went into the mine Monday morning, and this accounts for the fact that the loss of life was not heavier. The mine has in the past been pronounced free from gas by the state mine inspectors and it is supposed that the explosion was caused by dust. When a mine in not properly sprinkled and the air is allowed to get filled with fine coal dust, particles of it become almost as explosive as gas itself….” (Logansport Semi-Weekly Reporter, IN. “Sixty Men Perish in Mine Explosion 12-20-1907, p. 1.)

Dec 19: “Birmingham, Ala. – An explosion at 10:25 o’clock Monday morning at the mines of the Yolande Coal and Coke Company, Yolande, Tuscaloosa county, Ala., is said to have entombed fifty or more men….The estimate of fifty men underground is based upon the number supposed to have been at work at the time. The mine was a non-union slope, and was operated largely by native American labor, white and colored, about half of each. Other reports say that there are as many as 125 men entombed, and that the pumps cannot be gotten into operations.

“C. C. Huckabee was superintendent of the mine where the accident occurred. The company is operated by a company of Birmingham capitalists, headed by Dr. Gratton B. Crowe, of this city. Officials of the company hurried to the scene of the accident in an automobile as soon as possible after hearing of the trouble.

“Fourteen living men are already out of the mines, according to a telephone message. All were injured in the explosion.

“Chief Inspector J. M. Gray was notified from Yolande of the explosion and left a few minutes afterwards in an automobile for the scene….He says that the Yolande mine in which the explosion occurred has an output of about 400 tons a day. The number of men employed should be between fifty and seventy-five, but this being Monday after pay day it is doubtful if the full force was at work.

“Superintendent Brooks, of the Louisville and Nashville railroad, was notified shortly after 10 o’clock about the explosion through the road’s agent at Yolande. It was reported to him that the explosion occurred about 9 o’clock, and that there were 100 men entombed. The Louisville and Nashville has special trains in readiness to go to the mines if needed.

“At 2:20 o’clock Monday afternoon four dead bodies are known to have been taken from the mines….

“A long distance telephone message from Yolande states that twenty living men are out of the shaft of death, and the informant stated that he had seen but one dead man….

“Later indications seem to be that a dust explosion occurred in the No. 2 entry, causing the trouble that followed. The men who escaped got away through what some describe as a fiery furnace, and it is hinted that some of the victims may possibly be neither suffocated nor killed by the shock, but may be burned alive before aid can reach them.

“Matthew Humphrey, John Smedley and Harris Hall are said to be the three first victims, and it is understood that theirs were the bodies first brought out.

“The first men who got out, fourteen in number, were working at the time on sub-entry No. 2. The belief of many was that the men still under them were either dead or would die before relief could reach them.

“Men from mines all over Jefferson and Tuscaloosa counties, especially those in the vicinity of the disaster, have rushed to aid their fellow unfortunates, and a gallant fight will be made for the life of every living man.

“Dust, timbers, fragments of coal, etc., are understood to have been blown to a considerable distance from the mouth of the mine, and the debris and the first machinery are understood to have been badly damaged the mine machinery. It seems, however, that this is working again.

“It is understood that perhaps twenty mules stabled in the mines were killed, but this is not confirmed at the company’s local offices.” (Cullman Times Democrat, AL. “Explosion in Yolande: Fifty Miners Killed.” 12-19-1907, p. 2.)

Sources

Cullman Times Democrat, AL. “Explosion in Yolande: Fifty Miners Killed.” 12-19-1907, p. 2. Accessed 5-26-2020 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/cullman-times-democrat-dec-19-1907-p-2/

Evening News, Roanoke, VA. “Awful Slaughter of Men in Mines,” 12-23-1907, p. 1. Accessed 5-26-2020 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/harrisonburg-evening-news-dec-23-1907-p-1/

Fleming, J.R. “Organization of Safety Work in Mines.” Safety Engineering, Vol. 26, No. 2, August 1913, p. 108. Accessed at: http://books.google.com/books?id=L9YMAAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=editions:LCCNsc80000582&lr

Logansport Semi-Weekly Reporter, IN. “Sixty Men Perish in Mine Explosion 12-20-1907, p. 1. Accessed 5-26-2020 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/logansport-reporter-dec-20-1907-p-5/

Ludlam, Dianne. “Yolande coal mine disaster is recalled.” Tuscaloosa News, AL. 3-1-1978, p. 53. Accessed 5-26-2020 at: https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1817&dat=19780301&id=BgkdAAAAIBAJ&sjid=7J4EAAAAIBAJ&pg=6794,243193

National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Mining Safety and Health Research.. Mining Disasters (Incidents with 5 or more Fatalities). NIOSH, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2-26-2013 update. Accessed at: http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/mining/statistics/disall.htm
and http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/mining/statistics/content/allminingdisasters.html

New York Times. “75 Men Entombed by Mine Explosion.” 12-17-1907. Accessed 5-25-2020 at: https://usminedisasters.miningquiz.com/saxsewell/yolande_news_only.htm

United States Geological Survey, Department of the Interior. Mineral Resources of the United States Calendar Year 1908, Part II – Nonmetallic Products. Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 1909. Accessed 5-25-2020 at: https://www.google.com/books/edition/United_States_Congressional_Serial_Set/FeXeli-wGOcC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=yolande+coal+mine+explosion+1907&pg=PA53&printsec=frontcover

United States Mine Rescue Association. Mine Disasters in the United States. “Yolande Coal and Coke Company Yolande No. 1 Mine Explosion.” Accessed 5-25-2020 at: https://usminedisasters.miningquiz.com/saxsewell/yolande_news_only.htm