On a fateful November day an explosion at the Sunday Creek Coal
Company Mine #6 would become the deadliest mine disaster to ever
occur in Ohio.
The explosion was a result of an accumulation of methane gas
ignited by a short circuit between the broken trolley wire and rail
caused the explosion
82 two people died in the explosion. Those that lost their lives in
the explosion included ironically, mine officials who were touring
the mine to inspect safety equipment.
The mine located near Sunday Creek mined coal from the Hocking
Valley Coalfield.
According to Roadside Geology of Ohio by Mark J. Camp
“East of the Hocking Valley up tributaries like Federal, Monday,
and Sunday Creeks, thick seams of coal brought a coal boom to the
area that continues still. This region of coal became known as the
Hocking Valley Coalfield, and it stretched from Logan, Nelsonville,
and Athens east to Shawnee, Corning, and Glouster by the 1880’s and
1890’s. The Middle Kittanning Coal, averaging 5 to 7 feet of
marketable coal, was the main seam that was mined, but miners also
dug into Lower Kittanning and Lower Freeport seams. Starting in the
late 1870’s most of the coal went to fire iron smelters.
The largest section of this coalfield opened in late 1880 in the
Sunday Creek valley, which runs northeast of Beaumont, upon
completion of the Ohio Central Railway.”
Coal in the Hocking Valley is believed to be formed from the
plant remains of vast swampy forests that covered the area roughly
318 million years ago to 290 million years ago, during the late
Carboniferous Period, locally identified as the Pennsylvanian
epoch.
Coal is formed when the remains of dead plants are covered with
water, mud or other materials before the mechanisms of
decomposition and decay begin. Over milliona of years, this organic
material is compressed by the pressure of additional materials
deposited over top of these remains. The heat and pressure
transforms the chemical makeup of the materials into a rocklike
fuel. Coal in the Hocking Valley contains traces of natural sulfur.
Sulfur released from mined coal can react with certain other
natural materials to produce acid.
Abandoned coal mines in the area can often be identified by
large areas of waste products called tailings, located near the
site. Tailings are fine materials of broken rock, coal dust and
other waste materials not marketable. Coal tailings in this area
often produce acidic runoff that prevents the growth of vegetation.
At this site you can identify the tailings by the area of
bottomland showing some debris with little vegetation growing.
The numerous coal mining towns in the region are often referred
to as “Black Diamonds”
Sigmund Kozma, who was 16 at the time he survived the explosion
and the last living survivor of the Millfield Mine disaster, passed
away on January 3, 2009.
In order to successfully log this earthcache find you must
complete the following requirements;
1) Take an elevation reading at the above listed coordinates and
send me the answer in an e-mail.
2) In the e-mail you send for requirement 1, also tell me how many
survivors were found after the explosion and how far the survivors
were located from the main shaft.
3) In your find log you must upload a picture of you and your gps
with the power plant chimney clearly visable in the background of
your picture. If you are caching solo or a little shy, I will
gladly accept a handshot of your gps and the chimney. Please do not
enter the property (past the gate).
4) These mine shafts at Millfield were extensive. Calculate the
tonnage of coal removed from the portion of the mine where the
survivors were found. (Distance measurement from question 2 in feet
x 7 feet thick x 10 feet wide x 84lbs per cu. ft/2000lbs = N
tons.
5) Estimate the length and the width of the tailings field from
your vantage point at the OHS marker.( Area from road south to base
of hill showing little vegetation )
6) From the waypoint listed use your gps to mark a waypoint in
order to estimate the distance to the entrance of the mine (south
of the coordintes at the base of the hill across Jackson Run
Creek.
All the above requirements can be fulfilled at the public parking
spot at the OHS marker. Again, please do not enter the
property.
