1933 – Feb 8, B & C Limestone Quarry rock fall and slide, Fletcher, NC                      —       7

Compiled by Wayne Blanchard; last edit 1-17-2025 for upload to: http://www.usdeadlyevents.com/

–7  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, CDC.  Mine Disasters.

–7 United States Mine Rescue Association. Mine Disasters in the United States. Fletcher, NC.

Narrative Information

Daily Times News, Burlington, North Carolina. “Seven Killed in Quarry Pit.” 2-9-1933:

 

“Fletcher, Feb. 9. — (UP) — Aided by 40 convicts from the state highway prison camp near Hendersonville, rescue workers today dug into approximately 100,000 tons of rock and limestone in the quarry pit of the Blue Ridge Lime and Stone Company near here to recover the bodies of seven men who were crushed to death late yesterday. All hope for finding any of the men alive had been completely abandoned this morning.

 

“The side of the horse shoe-shaped pit fell without warning.  Some of the pieces of rock were as large as small houses.  The pit is 150 feet deep, and 200 yards square.  The falling rock filled the pit around 50 feet deep.

 

“The dead:

  • Jim Moore
  • Fran Prayton
  • Styles Webb
  • B. Collington
  • H. Shipman
  • Walter Collins
  • W. Wooten

“….Albert Mills, Hendersonville…was the only man to escape.  He had gone to the edge of the pit to secure a pick and was out of the way when the fall occurred.

“W. T. Gibson, manager of the quarry, attributed the fall to seepage of water, but said the quarry had been examined only recently and was pronounced to be safe.”

 

Sources

 

Daily Times News, Burlington, North Carolina. “Seven Killed in Quarry Pit.” 2-9-1933. Transcription accessed 1-17-2025 at: https://usminedisasters.miningquiz.com/saxsewell/blue_ridge.htm

 

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 1-17-2025 at:

https://wwwn.cdc.gov/NIOSH-Mining/MMWC/MineDisasters/Table

 

United States Mine Rescue Association. Mine Disasters in the United States. “Blue Ridge Lime and Stone Company, B and C Quarry Rock Slide, Fletcher, Henderson County, North Carolina, February 8, 1933, No. Killed – 7.” Accessed 1-17-2025 at: https://usminedisasters.miningquiz.com/saxsewell/blue_ridge.htm