1920 — Aug 13, Premature Dynamite Explosion; Boxley Quarry; Pounding Mill, VA — 9
–9 Bluefield Daily Telegraph, WV. “Recover Bodies of Seven Victims.” 8-17-1920, p. 1.
–9 NIOSH, CDC. All Mining Disasters: 1839 to Present (website). 2-26-2013 update.
–9 Southwest Times, Pulaski, VA. “Local Men Victims.” 8-14-1920, p. 1.
Narrative Information
Aug 13: “Graham, Va., August 13.–Six are known to have been killed and four others are believed to be dead as a result of a premature explosion at a limestone crushing plant at Pounding Mill today.” (Southwest Times, Pulaski, VA, “Premature Explosion Kills Six Workmen.” 8-13-1920, p. 1.)
Aug 13: “Tazewell, Aug 13. — A spark from a steam shovel flying into a hole charged with gunpowder, early today caused a premature explosion at the Pounding Mill rock crusher, on the Norfolk and Western Railway in this county, which cost the lives of nine man. Two other men were seriously injured, one of them having been blown into the air thirty feet. The blasts were to have been set off Monday [Aug 16]. The dead: [10 names]
- T. and C. G. McGhee, brothers, [from] Max Meadows, Va.; and
- Myers and
- L. Smith…
John Byrd, Allen Byrd, and Edward Byrd, brothers and
Jasper Jackson and
Wash Lovern…
(Southwest Times, Pulaski, VA. “Local Men Victims.” 8-14-1920, p. 1.)
Aug 17: “Bodies of seven of the nine men crushed to death in the W. W. Boxley & Company’s limestone quarry at Pounding Mill, Va., last Friday morning by a premature explosion of several hundred pounds of powder and dynamite blowing thousands of tons of stone down upon them, [were removed?] The bodies of the two other victims, it is expected, will be recovered today….” (Bluefield Daily Telegraph, WV. “Recover Bodies of Seven Victims.” 8-17-1920, p. 1.)
Sources
Bluefield Daily Telegraph, WV. “Recover Bodies of Seven Victims. Remains of Two Others May be Removed from Scene of Pounding Mill Explosion Today,” 8-17-1920, p. 1. Accessed 11-11-2017 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/bluefield-daily-telegraph-aug-17-1920-p-1/
National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). All Mining Disasters: 1839 to Present (website). Atlanta GA: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2-26-2013 update. Accessed 11-11-2017 at: https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/mining/statistics/content/allminingdisasters.html
Southwest Times, Pulaski, VA. “Local Men Victims.” 8-14-1920, p. 1. Accessed 11-11-2017 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/pulaski-southwest-times-aug-14-1920-p-1/
Southwest Times, Pulaski, VA, “Premature Explosion Kills Six Workmen.” 8-13-1920, p. 1. Accessed 11-11-2017 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/pulaski-southwest-times-aug-13-1920-p-1/