The Worlds Greatest Mine Fire

There are over 100 underground mines on fire in the United States so this may not be the greatest. Hoever, the New Straitsville Mine Fire has been burning/smoldering away since 1884. 6 mines (although the local paper declared 7 at first) were intentionally set on fire by disgruntled miners, Who had been non strike for 9 months.
The United Miner Workers was formed 2 years earlier, it's birthplace said to be in Robinson's Cave a couple miles out of town.
I'll tell you now, there's nothing visually left of the mine at this National Historic Site. No opening, nothing that would tell you were it was. Just reclaimed land.
The story behind the story is very interesting to me. My grandfather probably worked in the Corning mines but the situation there wasn't very different. The owners were always cutting pay and raising prices at the company store (think convenience store pricing but there weren't any other stores around). Miners went on strike. Sometimes they were settle peacefully, but more over they were violent affairs.
These were violent towns in general. Alcoholism was rampant, shoot outs happened often. Pulling people out from the jail to lynch them, just like in the movies, actually happened. New Straitsville was a high crime town.
Anger ran as deep as the coal vein. I can't help but think that going to work at the age of 10 played a role.
photos from the Little Cities of Black Diamonds, littlecitiesar...
genealogytrails...
Soundtrack: No.7 Alone With My Thoughts - Esther Abrami

[@sandysue2017]

As a mother I cannot imagine sending a young son off to work in the mines.
I appreciate your research and sharing this history with us.

[@persuethedream9862]

They worried a lot I'm sure. But the death of a child was not unusual then. If they were farmers, kids started working earlier and it had it's dangers too. Disease took many as well.

[@DWDinAtlanta]

My grandparents worked in the mills down here. Both grandfathers were in the military when old enough. I don't know much about my mother's mother's background, which is odd because she lived the longest of the 4. She was sickly from as far back as I could remember. Granddaddy was from a family that the little town I grew up in was named after. He owned a lot of land and had a lot of businesses after he got out of the service. From the grocery stor, to a laundry mat to a family style restaurant and a hamburger joint and a ice house and a gas station all across the street from his house or a block down the street. I loved to go from door to door looking for him. When his 2 youngest boys were in high school he had a go cart track behind his house that the older kids could pay to ride around and had a pony ring with 8 ponies for the smaller kids to ride. I loved those days. He died when I was 9. He was a very creative man and had farm animals and chickens there at the old house. He had a huge garden further away that he tended and harvested. I spent many a day sitting on the screened porch shelling beans and shucking corn. I loved eating that stuff and was so happy when momma got to take bags home! LOL HUGS~Donna

[@persuethedream9862]

Shelling beans and shucking corn on the back porch, ha The details differ but the fond memories of those days with our grandparents are the same. The mills in the south, coal mines in the mts, glass and tile factories to the north. It seems they lived under constant threat of disaster. I wonder what will be said about us a 100 yrs from now?

[@DTMBUILT]

I wonder if you can see smoke there from it

[@ColleenF30]

Sometimes in the right locations in Winter you could see the steam rising when I was growing up. Born in 1977 here. My hometown.

[@persuethedream9862]

I'm not sure if you can anymore. The govt bulldozes any places that have managed to come close to the surface now. Thats a great question and I'm going to ask my neighbor who grew up here. Thanks for your comment.