The most significant loss of life in a mining accident in the state of North Carolina occurred on May 27, 1925, when 53 miners were killed by explosions in the Coal Glen mine in Farmville, located in Chatham County.
When we think of coal mining, West Virginia and Pennsylvania are typically the first states that come to mind, but mining was also economically crucial to North Carolina.
Around 9:40 am on the morning of the 27th, about 70 men were underground working when the first explosion ignited. Soon after, two other blasts followed. The cause of the first explosion was likely the result of the ignition of a concentration of firedamp, or methane gas, possibly triggered by a spark from a faulty lamp.
The secondary explosions and the existing ventilation problems thwarted efforts to enter the mine during those days. Rescue teams from the neighboring Cumnock mine quickly arrived at the scene, but all aid was too late, as the miners were all dead by the time that the situation had stabilized enough for serious rescue efforts to begin.
The bodies of 53 men, 33 white and 20 African American, were brought to the surface over the next two days and buried.
It remains the worst industrial accident in North Carolina’s history.
Written By: John G. Clark Jr.