Okla-homey
1/7/2008, 07:07 AM
January 7, 1892: Mine explosion in Krebs, Oklahoma
116 years ago today, a massive mine explosion leaves nearly 100 dead in Krebs, Oklahoma, on this day in 1892. The disaster, the worst mining catastrophe in Oklahoma’s history, was mainly due to the mine owner’s emphasis on profits over safety.
http://aycu13.webshots.com/image/40092/2003929883000439990_rs.jpg (http://allyoucanupload.webshots.com/v/2003929883000439990)
Southeastern Oklahoma was a prime location for mining at the turn of the 19th century. Much of the land belonged to Indians and thus was exempt from U.S. federal government laws and regulations. Although the mining company’s indifferent attitude toward safety was well-known, there were more than enough immigrants in the area willing to work in the dangerous conditions at the Krebs mine, where most miners were of Italian and Russian descent.
http://aycu31.webshots.com/image/39910/2003938223550859870_rs.jpg (http://allyoucanupload.webshots.com/v/2003938223550859870)
St. Joseph's Catholic Church was established in 1885. The first wood frame church burned to the ground in 1902. This brick church was built in 1903. The photo on the left is from a postcard that is postmarked in 1915. Photo on the right is a recent photo. It is one of the oldest existing churches in the state.
The Osage Coal & Mining Company’s No. 11 mine was notorious for its poor conditions. This led to a high turnover of workers, and the company routinely hired unskilled labor, providing little in the way of training to get them up to speed. This was true for even the most dangerous jobs, like handling explosives and munitions.
http://aycu22.webshots.com/image/39821/2003991336653091817_rs.jpg (http://allyoucanupload.webshots.com/v/2003991336653091817)
Pittsburg County Railway Company's trolley car #35 is stopped in downtown Krebs on Washington Avenue (31 Highway) heading West. The streetcar line which was operated by the electric power generating company in McAlester, began operation in the late 1890's and had extended as far as Hartshorne by late 1904. .
In the early evening of January 7, several hundred workers were mining the No. 11 mine when an inexperienced worker accidentally set off a stash of explosives. Approximately 100 miners were burned or buried in the explosion. Another 150 workers suffered serious injuries. Nearly every household in Krebs was directly affected by the tragedy.
http://aycu14.webshots.com/image/40573/2003944064465038692_rs.jpg (http://allyoucanupload.webshots.com/v/2003944064465038692)
The Krebs Opera House. This photo is from a post card issued before statehood. The previous opera house burned to the ground on January 16, 1902. This new one was built in 1903. This photo was taken from what is now the front of the present Post Office. The Krebs Museum is located just to the left of and out of range of this photo.
It wasn’t until 2002 that the victims of the Krebs mining disaster were honored by a memorial built at the site of the old mine.
http://aycu24.webshots.com/image/39823/2003931741197636941_rs.jpg (http://allyoucanupload.webshots.com/v/2003931741197636941)
As an aside, the second worst industrial accident in state history occured at Ardmore on Sept. 27, 1915. The casinghead gasoline explosion was the deadliest and most destructive of any up to that time. Casinghead gasoline, or natural gasoline, is collected from natural gas at the casinghead of an oil or gas well. Casinghead gasoline production held an important place in Oklahoma's early petroleum development, and by 1913 forty natural gasoline plants existed.
Placing the gas under high pressure converts the gasoline in it to a liquid state, but this extremely volatile substance must stay at around 50 F or it will expand and change back to a gaseous state. The product was generally shipped to refineries by rail.
On September 26, 1915, a railroad car carrying casinghead gasoline arrived in Ardmore at the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railway depot. There the car was left until it could be taken to a nearby refinery. The next day the temperature quickly rose, activating the car's pop-off valve, designed to release gas pressure. Gas began to pour out and into the low-lying areas of downtown Ardmore.
The train conductor refused to move the car because of a fire at a nearby asphalt plant. The Ardmore Refining Company then sent a representative, who removed the dome from the top of the car, filling the air with gas and vapors. At 2:20 p.m. on September 27 an explosion, triggered by an unidentified source, destroyed most of downtown Ardmore.
Many people were injured, and forty-three people were killed. A district grand jury and a local coroner's jury found the Santa Fe Railway at fault. Citizens formed a committee that took claims and then presented them to the railroad officials. More than seventeen hundred claims were filed, and $1.25 million was paid.
http://aycu24.webshots.com/image/38903/2003935026595003019_rs.jpg (http://allyoucanupload.webshots.com/v/2003935026595003019)
116 years ago today, a massive mine explosion leaves nearly 100 dead in Krebs, Oklahoma, on this day in 1892. The disaster, the worst mining catastrophe in Oklahoma’s history, was mainly due to the mine owner’s emphasis on profits over safety.
http://aycu13.webshots.com/image/40092/2003929883000439990_rs.jpg (http://allyoucanupload.webshots.com/v/2003929883000439990)
Southeastern Oklahoma was a prime location for mining at the turn of the 19th century. Much of the land belonged to Indians and thus was exempt from U.S. federal government laws and regulations. Although the mining company’s indifferent attitude toward safety was well-known, there were more than enough immigrants in the area willing to work in the dangerous conditions at the Krebs mine, where most miners were of Italian and Russian descent.
http://aycu31.webshots.com/image/39910/2003938223550859870_rs.jpg (http://allyoucanupload.webshots.com/v/2003938223550859870)
St. Joseph's Catholic Church was established in 1885. The first wood frame church burned to the ground in 1902. This brick church was built in 1903. The photo on the left is from a postcard that is postmarked in 1915. Photo on the right is a recent photo. It is one of the oldest existing churches in the state.
The Osage Coal & Mining Company’s No. 11 mine was notorious for its poor conditions. This led to a high turnover of workers, and the company routinely hired unskilled labor, providing little in the way of training to get them up to speed. This was true for even the most dangerous jobs, like handling explosives and munitions.
http://aycu22.webshots.com/image/39821/2003991336653091817_rs.jpg (http://allyoucanupload.webshots.com/v/2003991336653091817)
Pittsburg County Railway Company's trolley car #35 is stopped in downtown Krebs on Washington Avenue (31 Highway) heading West. The streetcar line which was operated by the electric power generating company in McAlester, began operation in the late 1890's and had extended as far as Hartshorne by late 1904. .
In the early evening of January 7, several hundred workers were mining the No. 11 mine when an inexperienced worker accidentally set off a stash of explosives. Approximately 100 miners were burned or buried in the explosion. Another 150 workers suffered serious injuries. Nearly every household in Krebs was directly affected by the tragedy.
http://aycu14.webshots.com/image/40573/2003944064465038692_rs.jpg (http://allyoucanupload.webshots.com/v/2003944064465038692)
The Krebs Opera House. This photo is from a post card issued before statehood. The previous opera house burned to the ground on January 16, 1902. This new one was built in 1903. This photo was taken from what is now the front of the present Post Office. The Krebs Museum is located just to the left of and out of range of this photo.
It wasn’t until 2002 that the victims of the Krebs mining disaster were honored by a memorial built at the site of the old mine.
http://aycu24.webshots.com/image/39823/2003931741197636941_rs.jpg (http://allyoucanupload.webshots.com/v/2003931741197636941)
As an aside, the second worst industrial accident in state history occured at Ardmore on Sept. 27, 1915. The casinghead gasoline explosion was the deadliest and most destructive of any up to that time. Casinghead gasoline, or natural gasoline, is collected from natural gas at the casinghead of an oil or gas well. Casinghead gasoline production held an important place in Oklahoma's early petroleum development, and by 1913 forty natural gasoline plants existed.
Placing the gas under high pressure converts the gasoline in it to a liquid state, but this extremely volatile substance must stay at around 50 F or it will expand and change back to a gaseous state. The product was generally shipped to refineries by rail.
On September 26, 1915, a railroad car carrying casinghead gasoline arrived in Ardmore at the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railway depot. There the car was left until it could be taken to a nearby refinery. The next day the temperature quickly rose, activating the car's pop-off valve, designed to release gas pressure. Gas began to pour out and into the low-lying areas of downtown Ardmore.
The train conductor refused to move the car because of a fire at a nearby asphalt plant. The Ardmore Refining Company then sent a representative, who removed the dome from the top of the car, filling the air with gas and vapors. At 2:20 p.m. on September 27 an explosion, triggered by an unidentified source, destroyed most of downtown Ardmore.
Many people were injured, and forty-three people were killed. A district grand jury and a local coroner's jury found the Santa Fe Railway at fault. Citizens formed a committee that took claims and then presented them to the railroad officials. More than seventeen hundred claims were filed, and $1.25 million was paid.
http://aycu24.webshots.com/image/38903/2003935026595003019_rs.jpg (http://allyoucanupload.webshots.com/v/2003935026595003019)