Dynamite Accident at the Franklin Mines
A miner was severely injured when a makeshift tool used to celebrate the Fourth of July exploded, nearly costing him his life.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
John McKenzie, of Franklin, had his right cheek cut from ear to mouth and his upper jaw crushed while exploding dynamite with anvils on the evening before the Fourth of July. A ring used for holding the dynamite burst between two anvils and flew 200 feet like a cannonball, hitting McKenzie and rendering him unconscious for half an hour. Dr. J. J. Smith sewed up the wound; the patient will recover, though several pieces of his jawbone had to be removed.
“A ring used for holding the dynamite burst between two anvils and went 200 feet like a cannon ball.”
Celebratory explosions using anvils and blasting powder were common, dangerous 19th-century customs. This story highlights the perilous intersection of industrial mining tools and public festivities in early Washington.
From readers
No comments yet. If you know something about this story — a correction, a family memory, a source — it belongs here.