The Forgotten Mine of W.V.

In 1886 a loud explosion could be heard across the town of Newburg W.V., and a large cloud of smoke shot up almost 200 feet into the air above the town. The orrel mine had a disaster that caused many surrounding area's buildings to even take damage. Over 39 men and children where recorded dead, the true number is still not known due to unlisted immigrants. The youngest recorded death of the mine explosion is 12 year old William Timmons who was in charge of gate monitoring. During this time there where no child labor laws enforced so it was very common to see children working inside of mines. This disaster helped lead to the child labor laws that are enforced today. Strange deaths have also been tied into this mine Frank Laymire passed away in the explosion, his twin brother William Laymire who's brother was instituted at Weston's Trans-Allegheny Insane Asylum. He was never alerted of the accident and passed away after slitting his own throat according to records. Another strange death was that of Edward Edwards who drowned in the mine shaft after he somehow tripped and fell down a 160 foot drop in 1884. Below is one of the last known images captured of men entering the coal mine. We have to wonder is this the last time these men where photographed alive?

Newburg has built a small memorial to these men and children who have passed away, and there is a small cemetery located in Newburg W.V. where some of the bodies have been buried and a tribute sign has also been placed here listing the names of the miners. Below is a photograph of the cemetery.

We have to wonder how many victims where unaccounted for, and how many bodies still remain within the mine waiting to be recovered. Traces of the mine and the damages from the explosion still remain within the town. Within the woods abandoned mine furnaces rest building up moss and decay, there are small paths made out to these furnaces where visitors can catch a glimpse at them. Below is a picture of one of the many remaining furnaces.

Sadly it seems that West Virginia and it's tourists have forgotten this place and buried it into it's dark history, however the citizens of small town Newburg W.V, still carry this tragedy close to their hearts. Perhaps even the souls of these lost men and children still lurk here, not realizing what has happened to them.

Below is a list of known deaths from the explosion:

DANIEL MILLER, cage man, married, Newburg.

J. BIRD MILLER, driver, single, Newburg.

Miners:

MICHAEL CLARK, single, Newburg.

A. M. KEARNEY, single, Newburg.

WILLIAM LAYMIRE and FRANK LAYMIRE, twin brothers, married, Independence.

JOHN CONWAY, single, Newburg.

WILLIAM STANSBURY, married, Independence.

ADOLPH WEIR, recently married, Newburg.

ISAAC TIMMONS, married, Newburg.

MORGAN FREEMAN, married, Ironton.

HENRY LAMBERT, married, Newburg.

E. FORTNEY, single, Clarksburg.

ROSS KELLEY, married, Newburg.

NICHOLAS BIRTH, youth, Newburg.

ALBERT McWILLIAMS, married, Newburg.

JOHN HORNBY, single, Newburg.

PETER HOWLEY, single, Newburg.

NEWTON MOORE, married, Newburg.

JAMES McGOWEN, single, Newburg.

JOHN CARROLL, married, Newburg.

HENRY GUY, single, Newburg.

RICHARD KELLEY, married, Newburg.

JOHN LAMBERT, married, Newburg.

GEORGE RIGGINS, married, Scotch Hill.

CHARLES TUNLEY, married, Newburg.

JOHN BOYERS, married, Newburg.

A. LEVY WEAVER, married, Independence.

JACOB WEAVER, his brother, married, Independence.

FRANK MOORE, single, Scotch Hill.

WILBER SPENCER, single, Newburg.

ANDREW SCOTT, single, Scotch Hill.

JOHN EDWARDS, single, Newburg.

ARTHUR OGDEN, married, Newburg.

A 12-year-old WILLIAM TIMMONS, doorkeeper, Newburg.

Our hearts go out to these lost souls and to those who could still remain undocumented, we have to wonder what could have been done different to save these lives? Orrel mine company did not believe in paying for upkeep and safety precautions, ones that could have drastically changed this outcome. Today there are many safety precautions enforced for all mine companies to follow, without these precautions there could be many more disasters such as this one to add into our history. Even with safety measures however, mining can still be very dangerous and life threatening.