Catastrophe in Coal Country

Part III: Buttonwood Mine explosion

On February 17, 1906, four timber men were killed in an explosion outside the  Buttonwood Mine of the Parrish Coal Company in Hanover Township, Pennsylvania. Following the catastrophe, jurors in a coroner's inquest rendered a verdict to the effect that the death of the men was due to "causes unknown"; however, jurors determined it was “highly” probable that heat from a steam radiator ignited dynamite inside a shanty caused the fatal blast.

Part II: Twin Shaft disaster

The Twin Shaft disaster occurred in the Newton Coal Company's Twin Shaft Colliery in Pittston, Pennsylvania, on June 28, 1896, when a massive cave-in killed 58 miners. None of their bodies were ever recovered. It was one of the largest coal mining disasters in Pennsylvania history (even larger than the Knox Mine disaster many decades later in nearby Port Griffith).

Part I: Avondale Mine disaster

The Avondale Mine disaster was a massive fire at the Avondale Colliery near Plymouth Township, Pennsylvania, on September 6, 1869. It caused the death of 110 workers. It started when the wooden lining of the mine shaft caught fire and ignited the coal breaker built directly overhead. It was the worst mine disaster in American history at the time.

Queen Esther's Bloody Rock and more!

Join me as we visit a historical marker dedicated to John Abbott and Isaac Williams at the intersection of River Street and Carey Street in Plains. Then, we head over the bridge to Wyoming to check out Queen Esther's Rock (Susquehanna Ave) and the Wyoming Monument (Wyoming Ave). Finally, we walk the grounds of the Nathan Denison House in Forty Fort and the Zebulon Butler House in Wilkes-Barre - the oldest home in the city!

The Wyoming Massacre

In this brief video, I explore The Battle of Wyoming - a military engagement during the American Revolutionary War between Patriot militia and a force of Loyalist soldiers and Iroquois warriors. The battle took place in the Wyoming Valley of Pennsylvania on July 3, 1778, in what is now Luzerne County. An overwhelming defeat for the Americans, the battle is often referred to as the "Wyoming Massacre" because of the roughly 300 Patriot casualties.

Jetstream 3101 Plane Crash

In this short video, I highlight a tragic plane crash that occurred on May 21, 2000 in the Pocono Mountains of Northeastern Pennsylvania. A British Aerospace Jetstream 3101 ran out of fuel on its second approach to the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport, claiming the lives on all 19 on board. The plane was carrying 17 professional gamblers returning home from Caesar's Palace Casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey, along with 2 crew members.