1924 — Feb 5, Milford Iron Ore Mine, shaft collapse, lake floods in, Crosby, Minn.    —  41

Compiled by Wayne Blanchard; last edit 3-31-2025 for upload to: http://www.usdeadlyevents.com/

–41  Crow Wing County, MN. “Milford Mine Memorial Park.”

–41  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, CDC. Mining Disasters.

–41  United States Bureau of Mines. Report of an Inundation at Milford Mine…February 5, 1924

–41  United States Mine Rescue Association. Mine Disasters in the United States. Milford 1924.

Narrative Information

Crow Wing County, MN. “Milford Mine Memorial Park.” Site History:

“Milford Mine Memorial Park is the site of Minnesota’s worst mining disaster. This is the site on the Cuyuna Iron Range where 41 miners lost their lives on February 5, 1924. On that fateful day, around 3:30 in the afternoon, a mine shaft collapsed allowing a flood of water and mud to fill an underground network of tunnels claiming the lives of 41 men. The 200-foot Milford Mine had multiple levels with 1 shaft leading to the surface.”

U.S. Bureau of Mines synopsis: “Water from an adjoining lake entered the workings of the Milford mine as a result of a cave and entombed 41 men; 7 men barely escaped by climbing the shaft. The mine was completely filled with water in 13 to 15 minutes. The bodies were not recovered until after the mine was dewatered; the last body was recovered on November 4, 1924.”

Newspaper

Feb 6: “Crosby, Minn. — Forty-one miners perished when the bottom fell out of a small pond and flooded the workings of the Milford Iron Mine near here late Tuesday….

“The following is a list of the deceased in the Milford mine disaster:

(Janesville Daily Gazette, WI. “42 miners perish as pond empties into iron shaft.” 2-6-1924. Transcribed by United States Mine Rescue Association.)

Sources

Crow Wing County, MN. “Milford Mine Memorial Park.” Accessed 3-31-2025 at: https://www.crowwing.gov/294/Milford-Mine-Memorial-Park

Janesville Daily Gazette, WI. “42 miners perish as pond empties into iron shaft.” 2-6-1924. Transcribed by United States Mine Rescue Association. Accessed 3-31-2024 at: https://usminedisasters.miningquiz.com/saxsewell/milford.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 3-31-2025 at:

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

United States Bureau of Mines, Department of the Interior. Report of an Inundation at Milford Mine, Whitmarsh Mining Co., Crosby, Minnesota, February 5, 1924 – 41 Killed. Accessed 3-31-2025 at: https://usminedisasters.miningquiz.com/saxsewell/1924_Milford_Report.pdf

United States Mine Rescue Association. Mine Disasters in the United States. “Cuyuna-Minneapolis Iron Company, George H. Crosby, owner, Milford Mine Inundation, Crosby, Crow Wing County, Minnesota, February 5, 1924, No. Killed – 41.” Accessed 3-31-2025 at: https://usminedisasters.miningquiz.com/saxsewell/milford.htm