December 1907 is known in the mining industry and the nearby communities of Van Meter and Jacobs Creek as the “Dreaded Month”. It was a month that saw more than 700 people die in various mining tragedies across the country. One tragedy, a gas and dust explosion at the nearby Darr Mine in Van Meter, Rostraver Township in Westmoreland County near Smithton, killed 239 men and boys on December 19, 1907.
Working conditions at the time were very unsafe. Men worked long, grueling days in underground mines full of methane gas and very little ventilation. At the time, miners wore hats with open flames and explosions were common. This is believed to have cause the Darr Mine Disaster, which ranks as the worst coal mining disaster in Pennsylvanian history. In fact, a Pennsylvania historic site marker was erected here at the cemetery in September 1994. It honors the coal miners killed in the Darr Mine explosion.
At the time of the tragedy, no one, single cemetery was able to handle all the bodies recovered from the mine, so they were buried throughout the region. Seventy-one of the miners are buried in a common grave here at Mount Olive Branch Cemetery. Of those 71 miners, 49 are unknown.
Following the “Dreaded Month” of December 1907, a public outcry led to tougher safety laws and the creation of the U.S. Bureau of Mines.
In 2011, WQED, a TV station based out of Pittsburgh, did a 27-minute video on the disaster. Most of this information in this cache description was obtained from the video.
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1. Do not disturb any headstones; cache is not hidden near any gravesites.
2. Please no night caching.
3. Be respectful of the surroundings.