TERRE HAUTE —
Shortly after 4 p.m., Thursday, Nov. 21, 1878, an enormous explosion rocked the Handford Brothers mine about one-half mile north of the Evansville & Terre Haute Railroad depot in Sullivan County.
At the time it was declared the worst accident ever to have occurred in the Wabash Valley.
Resembling a volcano, large blocks of coal catapulted as high as 300 feet into the air and huge volumes of smoke gushed from the shaft, which provided access to two veins.
The upper vein was situated about 201 feet below the surface while the lower vein was positioned 247 feet down. The top tier was said to be three and one-half feet thick and lower vein coal, of much higher quality, was five feet deep.
Initially it was reported that 30 miners were trapped underground, 15 in each vein. The explosion was so violent that timbers underground were shattered and the walls crumbled. Large pieces of rock blocked passageways. One witness described “a double shock,” like “successive peals of subterranean thunder.”
Seventy-five miners from Shelburn boarded the first available train, with ropes, pulleys and baskets, to render assistance. They reached the Sullivan mine before 7 p.m.
Seven men were rescued from the upper vein in the first three hours. All were injured and one had a broken leg but none was in critical condition.
Seams of gas also were dangerous. The floors of the Handford Brothers mine were level but the ceiling bent up and down in waves, depending upon the thickness of the vein. Inflammable carbonated hydrogen gas was captured in the irregularities of the ceiling and had to be fanned with blankets.
Joseph Handford, one of the owners of the mine who had a brother and a cousin buried below, was the first to attempt to enter the lower vein. Faint cries of those imprisoned 247 feet down were heard occasionally.
Several hundred people surrounded the shaft. Many were family members often leaning forward to try to recognize an errant voice. One woman, whose 12-year old son was buried in the rubble, frantically pleaded for rescue workers to find him. Sadly, when they did, he was dead.
A coal truck operated in the lower vein by 17-year old Jimmy Harper and two empty trucks were crushed together. Harper was severely injured though he was blown free of the crash. Several empty trucks were seen tumbling end over end down passageways.
In the final analysis, there were 27 men in the mine at the time of the explosion, 12 in the upper vein and 15 in the lower. There were eight fatalities, all in the lower vein: Tom Handford, Sam Handford, Jack Leedun, Billy Vale, James Smith, Albert Smith, John Belger and Patrick Dunn.
The majority probably died from being overcome by noxious gas, which did not make itself known to the senses. Among the fatalities were two men apparently drowned in pools of water after being knocked unconscious by the explosion.
Responsibility for the explosion fell upon Leeden, a popular miner known as “French Jack.” Leeden, who was working with Dunn, was asked to fan the gas out of the entryway to the lower vein. His failure to take that precaution resulted in the deaths of eight men, including himself.
Most miners in the upper vein sustained only superficial wounds. Besides Harper, survivors in the lower vein who suffered more serious injuries included William Beswick, Elwood Croutch, Dennis Graney, George Jarvis, William Jones and Tom Muskell.
The mine was founded in 1874 by the Handford brothers, Thomas, Joseph and John. The boys had emigrated from England, where their father lost his life in a coal mine accident.
The Handfords were likable, seemed knowledgeable and the citizens of Sullivan subscribed liberally toward their efforts to establish a new enterprise. They invited their cousin, Samuel Handford, to join them.
The Handfords leased land upon which to build the mine from Joseph W. Wolfe. The mine was remarkably successful and the boys proved to be intelligent, honest and popular. Tom Handford opened a one-story grocery store between the mine and the depot.
An immense crowd assembled Nov. 23 for a mass funeral at the residence of Joseph Handford, where the bodies of Thomas and Samuel Handford, and their brother-in-law Joseph Smith, had lain for two days. A band and a choir accompanied the bodies of Vail, Dunn and Leedun from the Presbyterian Church to the Handford home.
All Sullivan businesses were closed.
There were two hearses and a large freight wagon carrying four coffins covered with a black cloth.
As the band played a dirge, a procession took the eight bodies to Center Ridge Cemetery. The Terre Haute Daily Express estimated that 3,000 people lined the streets and sidewalks.
Later that day miner Jack Smith went down into the mine to reassess the damage.
He concluded that it was much more serious than originally predicted.
On the positive side, Smith found both mine mules alive and fed them. The mule maintained near the entry to the upper vein seemed in very good health. The mule kept near the entryway to the lower vein was badly burned but appeared strong enough to survive.
History
HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE: Sullivan County mine explosion kills 8 in 1878
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