1924 — April 28, Coal Mine gas explosion (killing all inside), Benwood, ~Wheeling, WV-119

— 119 Dillon 1976, 171; WV Office MHS&T 2006
— 119 United States Mine Rescue Assoc. Mine Disasters in the United States. “…Benwood…”
— 119 West Virginia Division of Culture and History. “April 28, 1914-1924: Eccles/Benwood.”

Narrative Information

Bureau of Mines report by J. W. Paul (excerpts): “At 7:10 a.m. as the day-shift men reached their working places an explosion killed all of the 119 men in the mine.

“The 2 firebosses had reported the mine free of gas and had returned with the men. A miner found a fall of 8 feet of roof 22 feet from the room face. Thinking that the fall had been examined by the fireboss, he went over it and ignited gas.

“The mine was dry and dusty, and the explosion carried through every part of the mine. The recovery work was very difficult, as the main entry from the bottom of the hoisting shaft was caved by roof falls for over 4,000 feet.

“Entrance was made by the new airshaft, which was not accessible by road and which was not equipped with a hoist.

“Breathing apparatus was kept in reserve and gas masks were used for most of the advance work. Although the mine was gassy, open lights were used before the explosion, and sprinkling and ventilation were inadequate. Better ventilation would have been provided when the connections to the airshaft were completed.

“The chief inspector of the State recommended rock dusting, use of electric caplamps, and permissible equipment in all mines in the State in which gas was present.” (From Historical Summary of Mine Disasters in the United States – Volume I; excerpted on website of the United States Mine Rescue Association.)

Dillon: “West Virginia’s third worst mine explosion on April 28, 1924, next to Eccles on April 28, 1914, seemed to commemorate and outdo the second worst on the same day of the month and exactly a decade later. The two explosions had some similarities besides being on April 28. They were of terrific proportions, being so violent as to be indescribable. They both killed every participant within the mine and Benwood was next to the last big explosion to do that – not to leave a survivor.

“The state and nation was mourning still previous disasters; the clay still fresh on the graves from the blast at Glen Rogers six months before taking twenty-seven lives and the Yukon explosion of exactly one month prior to Benwood snuffing out the lives of twenty-four miners. Benwood was the most northern disaster and Yukon was the most southern up to that time” [both in WV].

“The terrific Benwood explosion happened on a Monday morning just thirty-five minutes after the men entered the mine. First reports were that 110 men had checked in, but in the final count, there were 119 bodies recovered.” (Dillon 1976, pp. 170-175)

WV Div. of Culture and History: “The state’s third worst mine disaster occurred…on April 28, 1924, at a Wheeling Steel Corporation mine in Benwood. The blast occurred about one-half hour after workers entered the mine, killing 119.” (WV Div. of Culture and History. “April 28, 1914-1924: Eccles/Benwood”)

Sources

Dillon, Lacy A. They Died in Darkness. Parsons, WV: McClain Printing Co., 1976.

United States Mine Rescue Association. Mine Disasters in the United States. “Wheeling Steel Corporation, Benwood Mine Explosion. April 28, 1924.” Accessed 5-29-2020 at: https://usminedisasters.miningquiz.com/saxsewell/Benwood.htm

West Virginia Division of Culture and History. Time Trail, West Virginia. “April 28, 1914/1924: Eccles/Benwood Coal Mine Disasters.” At: http://www.wvculture.org/history/timetrl/ttapr.html#0407