On this day in labor history, the year was 1883 marking the deadliest day in Illinois mining history at the time. 74 men and boys lost their lives digging for coal in the Diamond Mine Disaster in Braidwood Illinois.
The Wilmington Coal and Manufacturing Company owned the mine. It was located in marshy, low lying area.
At mid-day the east side of the mine collapsed from the weight of melting snow the melting snow and heavy rains flooded the mine.
Those trapped below could not open the ventilation doors against the heavy weight of water.
Two of those who died were just 13 years old.
One miner, John Huber, recounted his experience, “I rushed as fast as the nature of the passage would allow to where I thought my two sons were at work, but found that they had gone. I then yelled at the top of my voice to the men near me, and made as fast as I could for the air-shaft, where I knew there was a ladder, and that I could get out. By this time the water was up to my armpits, and I had a hard time to get up the shaft…”
When he finally escaped the mine he learned his sons had not made it out.
After the disaster, it took seven steam pumps 38 days to remove enough water to attempt to recover the bodies.
Falling rocks and accumulation of gas made the recovery work very dangerous.
Forty-six of the dead were never recovered.
The 1898 United Mine Workers of America placed a memorial at the site.
The Diamond Mine Disaster was one tragic entry of many that plagued the mining industry. During the first two decades of the twentieth century mining claimed nearly 50,000 lives in the United States.
Labor History in 2:00 brought to you by the Illinois Labor History Society and The Rick Smith Show