The Roslyn Mine Disaster
A devastating gas explosion in Northern Pacific Coal Company's Mine No. 2 leaves dozens of families in mourning as the town of Roslyn turns its city hall into a temporary morgue.
At 1:45 this afternoon, a terrible gas explosion occurred in the slope of mine No. 2 of the Northern Pacific Coal Company in Roslyn. It is believed that every miner at work in the slope at the time has perished; estimates suggest between 45 and 50 men were on the three affected levels. The concussion was so violent that it threw a coal car from its tracks near the entrance, and thick volumes of after-damp and smoke poured from the shaft, signaling the tragedy. By evening, fourteen bodies had been recovered, many of them badly burned or mutilated by the blast. Acting Superintendent Harrison stated that the explosion likely occurred when miners struck a drill hole containing gas and water, which ignited upon contact with their lamps. The city hall has been converted into a morgue as recovery efforts continue, with miners volunteering their services to search for their companions. For the many families left behind, the disaster is a crushing blow, as it claims the lives of numerous husbands and fathers who served as the primary support for their households.
“The scene surrounding the entrance to the mine was of the usual distressing character, so often described at mine disasters in other large camps. The wives and children of many of the imprisoned were there, and the distress was heartrending.”
The Roslyn mines were the engine of Washington's industrial expansion in the late 19th century, fueled largely by immigrant labor. Today, the town is known more for its film history than its coal, but the physical remnants of the mining era still shape the landscape of the Cascades.
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