Sunday Creek Coal Company Mine No. 6, RR1 CR27 (Millfield Road), East Millfield

Source document Quoted word for word from HAER OH-139. Not written, edited or summarised by this site.

RR1 CR 27 (Millfield Road), approximately 1 mile east of East Millfield, Dover Township, Athens County, Ohio USGS 7.5 Athens Quadrangle UTM Coordinates: Latitude Longitude The coordinate represents the location of the smoke stack. The coordinate was obtained on December 20, using Maptech mapping software and reference to online mapping programs (Google Maps). Engineer/Builder: Not Known Date(s) of Construction: ca. or Original Owner/ Occupant and Use: Millfield Coal Mining Company/Mineral Resources/Coal Mining

Source document Quoted word for word from HAER OH-139. Not written, edited or summarised by this site.

The Sunday Creek Coal Company was the second largest coal mining company in the world at its peak of operation, provided the economic engine for the local community of Millfield and surrounding environs through the and existed during the formation of the United Mine Workers Union in nearby New Straitsville, Ohio. On November 5, an explosion took the lives of 82 men, including the president of Sunday Creek Coal Company and other officials on a safety inspection tour. The mine disaster initiated changes in Ohio s mine safety legislation of Sunday Creek Coal Company Mine No. 6 is listed in the National Register of Historic Places by the Keeper of the Register on May 23, The property meets the criteria for inclusion under the categories of Commerce, Economics, and Mining History.

Sunday Creek Coal Co. Mine No. 6 HAER No. OH-139 (Page 2) Description: Sunday Creek Coal Company, Mine No. 6 consists of 13 identifiable buildings/structures, a main mine shaft, a tram bucket cable, rail car tracts, and gob piles (coal tailings). The property consists of an area approximately acres just south of CR 27 (Millfield Road). As described in Sunday Creek Coal Company Mine No. 6 consisted of 13 identifiable buildings/structures.1 Today the property consists of only a portion of six structures, including: The Hospital is a yellow brick (ceramic glaze) one story building (approximately 20 x 10 ). The roof is gone from this structure. The Smoke Stack is a 150 tall rectangular brick structure with a corbelled cap approximately 7 x 10 ).

There is large oval opening on the southside was used a vent for the passage of steam from the boiler engines. The smoke stack is intact but in a state of decay. Large cracks are visible on the exterior brick surface and some bricks have fallen from the stack. The Sand House (portions) is a one story unglazed brick building (20 x 10 ). The structure has only two walls standing and the roof is gone. The Shower Room and Shower Addition (portions) one story brick and tile building with cement floor. The original structure had a gabled roof. Currently, only two sections of the exterior walls are standing. The Air Shaft and Fan House was a brick building with a gabled roof. Currently only two wall remnants are still standing.

The air shaft is lined with concrete subterranean walls that remain intact but weakened by erosion. The cap is also constructed of concrete and a portion of the cap has collapsed. The air shaft measures approximately 20 long x 14 wide and has a small stream flowing into it. The stream has eroded and weakened the northwest wall as well as the soil around it. The air shaft had been identified for remediation as a safety issue. 1 National Register of Historic Places Inventory. Sunday Creek Coal Company, Mine No. 6. Inventory form prepared by Millfield Mine Memorial Committee, (On file at the Ohio Historic Preservation Office, Columbus). Sunday Creek Coal Co. Mine No. 6 HAER No.

OH-139 (Page 3) An unnamed building, (15 x 5 ) which appears to be attached to the Air Shaft and Fan House structure, is a long narrow brick building. No roof is present. There were seven (7) additional buildings/structures associated with this property that are no longer standing. These include: The Office. No additional information is available The Tipple & Coal Cleaning House consisted of a tall braced frame industrial structure constructed of heavy hardwood timbers and steel bolt. It measured approximately 60 x 20 . The tipple cleaned and graded four grades of coal which fed to four separate rail car lines. In the tipple was modified with the first vat washer in Athens County. After Mine No.

6 ceased coal extraction operations in the tipple continued to be used to process coal from other mines in the area. At the time of the National Register nomination, the tipple was one of the few remaining tipples constructed from the and The tipple was demolished in ca. for safety reasons. Remnants of the wooden structure remain on the property near its original location; however, recent acts of vandalism and arson have inflicted further degradation. The Hoist House was a one story common bond brick industrial building with Italianate stylization. It was rectangular with segmentally arched openings. The building originally housed two Danville Steam Hoist Engines from Danville, Illinois.

The engines were removed and the windows altered when the mine, in operation as Sunday Creek Coal Company Mine No. 6, closed in These alterations were made to facilitate the continuation of coal washing and processing at the mine by other mines still operating in the area. Any remnants of the hoist house were demolished when the tipple was razed and/or as a result of the recent main mine shaft collapse. This area of the complex was identified for remediation for safety purposes. Sunday Creek Coal Co. Mine No. 6 HAER No. OH-139 (Page 4) The Steam Boiler Room and Blacksmith Shop was a long rectangular one story brick building that measured approximately 50 long x 20 wide. Sections of the south wall, still standing in indicated that it had a gabled roof.

Rubble and debris currently occupy this location. The Tram House was a small structure along the north side of the tipple, which was associated with the operation of a tram bucket along a cable to the gob pile and took impurities away from the mine. Reports from the mine during operation stated the tram ran three shifts a day when the mine was in full production. The Loafing Shed was a wood frame structure used by the men who were waiting to go down into the mine shaft in the cage. Several additional features were documented at this site, including: The Mine Shaft originally measured 25 long x 14 wide with a depth of approximately 189 deep. It had walls and cap constructed of concrete. The shaft walls extended through the soil zone and to a depth of more than 40 .

It consisted of three cages that lead to numerous unusually wide entries measuring several hundred feet in length and was equipped with electric lights. At the time of the nomination, the mine shaft was capped with concrete. In the mine shaft area near the hoist house location experienced subsidence. An initial collapse event involved the failure of the concrete wall on the north side of the shaft leaving the cap and three adjacent walls intact. A few days later, two additional walls and the cap collapsed leaving only the southeast wall standing. The surrounding soil also fell into the shaft creating a large, funnel shaped sinkhole. The sinkhole measured approximately 55 long x 45 wide. This collapse was identified for remediation for safety purposes.

The Water Tank was a circular double walled brick structure reinforced with steel rods. The water tank is located on the north side of CR 27 (Millfield Road) on private property. The mine had four separate car tracks that were used to haul the four different grade of coal from Mine No. 6. An additional Sunday Creek Coal Co. Mine No. 6 HAER No. OH-139 (Page 5) track was used to house empty cars. The rail tracks have been removed from the site. At least 5-6 acres of Gob piles, or coal tailings, are associated with the site. Gob piles or coal tailings are large piles of poor quality coal and rock fragments that are removed from the mining during the coal washing and sorting stage.

It is piled up, often times burned to render it more stable (turning it into Red Dog) and left as mine spoil at a mining site. History: The mine complex was constructed in or by the Millfield Coal Mining Company owned by Clinton L. Poston and George H. Smith. The mine was leased to the Poston Consolidation Company in and referred to as the Poston No. 6 mine. The first coal from the mine was loaded on March 4, The mine was later purchased by Sunday Creek Coal Consolidation Company in September of The Poston No. 6 mine was one of 60 mines owned and operated by Sunday Creek Mining Company (organized in spreading though southern Ohio and Kanawha County, West Virginia.

At its peak of operation, the Sunday Creek Coal Company was reported to be the second largest coal company in the world Operations were suspended on April 11, in order to affect repairs and upgrades. Operations were reestablished on August 11, By the supporting company town of Millfield boasted residents, many of whom worked the mine. Labor was also garnered from other nearby company towns including: Glouster, Jacksonville, Sand Hill, Sugarcreek, and Trimble.

The economic impact of the complex was significant in the region as attested by the reach of its employee network.2 About one year following the acquisition of the mine by Sunday Creek Coal Consolidation Company, and two months following renovations, events that occurred during a mine inspection led to the largest mine disaster in Ohio history. On the morning of November 5, an explosion occurred near the entry to one of the two air shafts during a visit of key coal mining and coal company officials associated with inspecting the new air shaft. The force of the blast at the epicenter bent metal rails, caused doors to splinter and 2 Mine Accidents and Disasters No. 6 Mile Explosion Sunday Creek Coal Company. United States Mine Rescue Association.

Electronic document, accessed December Sunday Creek Coal Co. Mine No. 6 HAER No. OH-139 (Page 6) rendered passageways impassable due to collapsed debris. The explosion contained such force that it was felt along the nearly 2 miles of tunnels that made up the mine complex, knocking mine workers against the wall without killing them. According to Ronald Luce, those miners affected by the explosion included 119 men that escaped the mine with little assistance, two were rescued immediately after the explosion, 19 were saved by building a brattice to keep out the poisonous gases, six escaped by the stairs of the new air shaft and 82 individuals died.

Of the 82 dead, two were killed outright by force and flame of the explosion; six were killed by a combination of burns and afterdamp, and 74 were killed by afterdamp (asphyxiation). 3 A thorough investigation of the explosion and the mine s failings was conducted. Luce states that apparently, a slate fall in the face of the 21 east entry caused a live electric line to fall from the ceiling and make contact with a steel rail, thus causing an arc. The arc ignited methane gases and coal dust particles in the air, causing the explosion to rush down the open areas of the mine more than to the nearest person and well beyond to cause major havoc and numerous deaths.

3,4 After the written rebuke given to the company, the mine made some improvements and continued to operate until approximately with no further major incidents. Certainly, the event enhanced governmental oversight for a time. However, had it not been for the explosion on November 5, the history of the Sunday Creek Mine No. 6 would be just one more of mines that came and went in Southeastern Ohio. Many miners had died in smaller incidents. Slate falls were common experiences, minor explosions happened throughout the history of mining in the area.

The fact that 82 men died in such a sudden, horrendous, needless way brought significant attention not only to the memory of the lives lost and devastated families, but to the industry itself and the importance of regulation and concern for safety; national attention was focused on the little community of Millfield, Ohio. Unfortunately, many of the 3 Luce, Ronald W. The Millfield Mine Disaster November 5, (Manuscript on file at Ohio Department of Natural Resources-Division of Mineral Resource Management [ODNR-DMRM], Columbus, OH and ASC Group, Inc., Milton, WV 4 Forbes, J. J.; Grove, G. W.; Howell, S. P.; and M. J. Ankeny. Report of Gas and Dust Explosion in Mine No.

6, Sunday Creek Coal Company, Millfield, Ohio, November 5, (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: US Department of Commerce, Bureau of Mines, Health & Safety Branch, Safety Division Sunday Creek Coal Co. Mine No. 6 HAER No. OH-139 (Page 7) circumstances that caused the Sunday Creek Mine No. 6 explosion still exist in modern mining; corners are still being cut to maintain and increase profits, and miners are exposed needlessly to risks they should not have to take. Ideally, the Millfield mine location continues to serve as an historic reminder, not only of those who died needlessly, but of the need for vigilance in an industry that once made southeastern Ohio a powerful economic force in the country and continues to play a part in our national existence.5 Following recovery efforts, Poston Mine No.

6, as it was then known, continued to operate with little fanfare until The tipple continued to be used as a coal cleaning and sorting station for other mines in the area for many years after the mine ceased coal extraction operations. Once the site was no longer used for coal cleaning and sorting (date unknown), the structures were left to deteriorate. The site has been marked as a state historic landmark and is somewhat of an attractive nuisance as it is frequently visited by historians, vandals, and curious individuals. Although marked as an historic site, the land is in private hands with no public access. The tipple, which was razed ca. was the most visually iconic element of the complex.

At this time, the smoke stack has filled that vacancy and is the structure that visually identifies the site with the mine. 5 Luce, Ronald W. The Millfield Mine Disaster November 5, (Manuscript on file at ODNR-DMRM, Columbus, OH and ASC Group, Inc., Milton, WV Sunday Creek Coal Co. Mine No. 6 HAER No. OH-139 (Page 8)

Source document Quoted word for word from HAER OH-139. Not written, edited or summarised by this site.

Athens County Historical Society and Museum (65 North Court Street, Athens, Ohio Millfield Mine Disaster November 5, Millfield Mine Memorial collection. Clipping file of newspaper stories on the Millfield mine disaster and photocopies of articles that appeared in newspapers in concerning the disaster. Photocopy of McDonald, H. L. account of the Millfield Mine Explosion (see reference below). Nov 12 Testimony of Howard Davis, Inquest Over the dead bodies of victims of Mine number 6, Millfield Disaster, Athens Co, OH. John Mackie Photo collection: Millfield Mine No. 6 Millfield Mine Disaster Millfield Mine Disaster No. 6 Millfield Mine Disaster Air shaft. Mine No. 6 Millfield P-1995-668-37a. Black & white photo of a group. Not listed Black and white photo of the Millfield Mine.

Seventeen men on what Main Shaft Sunday Creek Coal Co. - #6 mine Building Millfield General store Millfield Mine Coal Mine No. 6 Photo of Millfield town (old) blown up to poster size Building Millfield coal mine photo blown up to poster size Athens Messenger, Various newspaper articles relating to mine disaster dated November 9, and 10, Bush, Fred W., The Centennial Atlas of Athens County, Ohio. (Athens, Ohio. The Centennial Atlas Association, publishers) (Reprinted by Ohio University Press, Athens, Ohio, Watkins Printing Company, Dover Township Plat Map and small plat of Millfield appear in front of Atlas on separate pages, not numbered. RESIDENCE OF POSTON, ATHENS, OHIO. Includes a photograph of the residence, now the Ohio University Presidential residence; biography and photo of C. L.

Poston; biography and photo of his father Lorenzo D. Poston. p. Athens County History, History of Athens County s Coal Industry. pp. Crowell, Douglas L., History of the Coal-Mining Industry in Ohio, Bulletin 72, (Columbus, Ohio: Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Division of Geological Survey, Fountain Square Drive, Columbus, OH Discussion of the Millfield Mine Disaster appears in Chapter 6 Perils of Mining Coal Underground, pp. TABLE 4-Notable Ohio Coal Mine Disasters, p. 96; Disaster discussion, p. 98; FIGURE Hoisting-shaft headframe and tipple of the Sunday Creek Coal Company Mine No. 6 (As-142). This mine Sunday Creek Coal Co. Mine No. 6 HAER No.

OH-139 (Page 9) is about 1 mile east of Millfield, in Dover Township, Athens County, and was the site of Ohio s worst coal mine disaster in Circa Photo courtesy of Walter R. Ervin, p. 99; FIGURE - A portion of the abandonment map of the Sunday Creek Coal Company Mine No. 6 (As-142) (modified from Humphrey, p. This map highlights the extent of the mine workings (shaded outline) as of November 5, Also shown are the location of the casualties, those miners who were rescued, and the probable point for the methane-gas explosion (See also figs. 137 and p. FIGURE Map of west half of explosion area of Sunday Creek Coal Company Mine No. 6 (As-142) (from Humphrey, p. fig. p. FIGURE - Map of east half of explosion area of Sunday Creek Coal Company Mine No. 6 (As-142) (from Humphrey, p. fig. p.

FIGURE Miners, newsmen, and Red Cross volunteers waiting for news of survivors and casualties at the scene of the Millfield mine disaster on November 5, Photo courtesy of Ohio Historical Society. p. APPENDIX: - OHIO COAL PRODUCTION (IN SHORT TONS) BY COUNTY, pp. Athens County is listed on page Endpiece: Advertisement from Black Diamond, Vol. 4, No. 8, p. ad for The Sunday Creek Coal Company, p. Crowell, Douglas L., Death Underground: The Millfield Mining Tragedy, pp. Timeline, September-October Volume 14 Number 5 (Columbus, Ohio: A Publication of the Ohio Historical Society, Velma Avenue, Columbus, OH ISSN Crowell is a geologist and supervisor of the Coal Geology Group, Ohio Division of Geological Survey.

He earned his bachelor s and master s degrees in geology from Miami University, Oxford, Ohio. He has written articles on exploratory core drilling, pulpstones, coal miners, and mine subsidence, and he is the author of History of Coal-Mining Industry in Ohio. ibid, p. 55. Davis, Howard. Testimony of Howard Davis, November 12, Inquest Over the dead bodies of victims of Mine number 6, Millfield Disaster, Athens County, Ohio. (in the Athens County Historical Society and Museum collection, 65 North Court Street, Athens, Ohio A8 M51 Dingeldey, Elmer, Graphic Description of Scene Following Ohio s Worst Mine Disaster in Millfield, November 5, pp. The Ohio Alumnus, November, (Millfield Mine Disaster collection, Mahn Center for Archives and Special Collections, Alden Library, Ohio University). Mr.

Dingeldey, a senior at Ohio University, was the only newsman, among two score and more gathered at the mine shaft, to gain entrance to the mine. His feat was accomplished as a rescue worker, however, and not as a member of the press. Ding is editor of the Green Goat and a reporter on the staff of the Athens Messenger. Forbes, J. J.; Grove, G. W.; Howell, S. P.; and M. J. Ankeny, Report of Gas and Dust Explosion in Mine No. 6, Sunday Creek Coal Company, Millfield, Ohio, November 5, (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: US Department of Commerce, Bureau of Mines, Health & Safety Branch, Safety Division.) 157 pages. Sunday Creek Coal Co. Mine No. 6 HAER No. OH-139 (Page 10) Jones, L. F., Athens County Coroner, and R. D.

Williams, Athens County Prosecuting Attorney, conducted a public inquest 12 November in Millfield, Ohio. Testimony was given by 26 witnesses. The Athens Messenger, Monday, November 10, Page 1, Mine Disaster Inquest Is Postponed Until Wednesday By Coroner; Funerals Held. The Athens Messenger, Thursday, November 13, Page 1, What Ignited Fumes Still Is Undecided: Explosion Vented Force Up Air Shaft or All Would Have Been Killed, Forbes Says; Miners and Investigators Are Interrogated At Inquest Held in Millfield Theater. The Athens Messenger, Tuesday, December 2, Page 1, Short Circuit of Trolley Wire, Rail Caused Mine Blast: Accumulated Gas Was Exploded, Coroner Announces in Official Findings of Inquest; Wire Was Broken Near Origin of Blast, Is Theory of the State Metallurgical Engineer.

(Quoted findings of Prof. F. J. Demorest, metallurgical engineer, Ohio State University). The Athens Messenger, Wednesday, May 18, Page 1, Still Unfinished Business. The Millfield Mine Disaster, which occurred Nov. 5, still remains a matter of unfinished business for Athens County. Half of the coroner s inquest fees of are unpaid as the result of insufficient funds. Today Coroner L. F. Jones was paid or half due for services at the disaster. ). Lake, D. J., Atlas of Athens County, Ohio.

(Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Titus, Simmons, and Titus) Loughridge, Susan R., ed., Millfield Mine Disaster, November 5, (Millfield, Ohio: 16 page pamphlet, self-published by the Millfield Mine Memorial Committee, with Patterns In Preservation grant funding from the Ohio Historic Preservation Office, Ohio Historical Society) McDonald, H. L., The Millfield Mine Explosion, Nov. 5, self-published for commemoration of mine disaster, (Millfield Mine Disaster collection, Mahn Center for Archives and Special Collections, Alden Library, Ohio University) 21 pp. First-hand account of the disaster by a member of a rescue party. National Archives and Records Administration, Special Media Services Division, Still Pictures Reference Team Adelphi Road, College Park, MD, www.archives.gov).

Maps and Map of Mine No. 6, Millfield, Ohio, where explosion occurred Nov. 5, Illustrations in Bulletin Coal-Mine Explosions, United States, James Westfield. Pictures taken during recovery operations at Sunday Creek Coal Company, Millfield, Athens County, Ohio, after explosion of November 5, J. J. Forbes, Tipple of mine number 6 with mine rescue car No. 3 in foreground, November 8, during recovery operations after explosion of November 5, 82 fatalities. Tipple, tipple end of aerial tramway, Superintendent s office and tool shed, mine No. 6, November 8, during recovery operations after explosion on November 5, Sunday Creek Coal Co. Mine No. 6 HAER No.

OH-139 (Page 11) Tipple, supply room, and blacksmith shop (center) top of hoise [sic hoist] house, boiler room and stack (center), wash house (behind fan), fan house and fan housing (right), Mine No. 6, November 8, during recovery operations after explosion of November 5, Surface landing, main shaft, mine no. 6, November 8, during recovery operations after explosion of November 5, Same as Fan at new air shafts, mine number 6, November 8, during recovery operations after explosion of November 5, Shaft seal, fan and transformers at top of new air shaft, mine No. 6. November 8, during recovery operations after explosion of November 5, Same as Men ready to go underground during recovery operations, mine No. 6, November 8, after explosion of November 5, Same as Two types of protection hats.

Grove (left) and Isaac Vaughn, Deputy Inspector, District No. 14 of Ohio at mine No. 6, November 8, during recovery operations after explosion of November 5, J. J. Forbes and a group of five Ohio state officials. E. W. Smith, Chief, Division of Mines of Ohio (second from right) at mine No. 6, November 8, during recovery operations after explosion of November 5, Robert Marshall, Assistant Mine Foreman (left), Elsa Hermann, Electrician (right), Mine No. 6, during recovery operations after explosion of November 5, J. J. Forbes (left) and Andrew Watkins, U. M. W. of A. (right) at mine No. 6, during recovery operations after explosion of Nov. 5, Photomicrographs Coke dust floated from samples from 18 West off 4 North between rooms 9 and 10. Mine No.

6, Sunday Creek Coal Company, Millfield, Athens County, Ohio. November, in connection with mine explosion of November 5, Coke dust floated from samples from 22 East off 4 North in by 3 North, Mine No. 6, Sunday Creek Coal Company, Millfield, Athens Co., Ohio. November, in connection with mine explosion of November 5, Industrial Commission of Ohio, Department of Investigation and Statistics, reports, published by The F. J. Heer Printing Company, Columbus, Ohio. Bulletin 3. Statistics of Mines and Quarries in Ohio," Bulletin 19. Statistics of Mines and Quarries in Ohio," Bulletin 25. Statistics of Mines and Quarries in Ohio," Bulletin 31. Statistics of Mines and Quarries in Ohio," Bulletin 36.

Statistics of Mines and Quarries in Ohio," published Coal production reported to the Department of Investigation and Statistics, Ohio Industrial Commission, for the year ending December 31, totals tons. (a) This was 7.6 per cent of the total bituminous production for the United States, tons, as announced by the United States Geological Survey, which ranks Ohio as the fourth state in quantity of such coal mined. The greatest coal-producing county in the State is Belmont County, which reports tons, or slightly more than one-fourth of Ohio s total coal product. Athens County with tons and Jefferson County with tons, each produced one-seventh of the State s total tonnage. p. 9 The report includes discussion of mining methods, miners employed and payroll. pp.

Lists the coal mines operating in Athens County by name, address, mine name, and nearest post office. Poston Consolidated Coal Co., 201 Lostro Athens, No. 6, Millfield. Sunday Creek Coal Co. Mine No. 6 HAER No. OH-139 (Page 12) Millfield Mine Memorial Committee, Millfield, OH National Register of Historic Places nomination: Sunday Creek Coal Company, Mine No. 6 listed on New York Times, Millfield-160 Trapped in Blast: 140 Believed Dead, November 6, page 1. Death Toll Reaches 79 November 7, page 3. Death Toll Reaches 83 November 8, page Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Ohio Abandoned Mines Viewer, See AS-142, Underground Shaft Mine Millfield No. 6, abandoned ODNR-AML, Millfield Shaft Emergency Project, Abandoned Land Mines Reclamation Project.

(Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Division of Mineral Resources Management, Columbus OH 4. Ohio Labor History Project, Ohio Historical Center. Oral History Interviews of Athens County miners including from Millfield Mine. Ray, Frank A., E. M., Consulting Mining Engineer, Notes Taken from US Bureau of Mines Report on Their Investigation, Rescue Work, etc., on the Explosion in the Sunday Creek Coal Company Mine, Poston No. 6 at Millfield, Athens County, Ohio, Which Occurred Nov 5, mimeo, 24 Feb (Millfield Mine Disaster collection, Athens County Historical Society and Museum, 65 North Court Street, Athens, Ohio xx pp. Ray, Frank A. and E. S. Bonnet, Report of the Explosion Which Occurred November 5, in Poston No.

6 Mine; owned by The Sunday Creek Coal Company; Located At Millfield, Athens County, Ohio, (Columbus, Ohio. Frank A. Ray, E.M., Consulting Engineer, 401 Cooper 71 East State Street, Columbus, Ohio) November 14, (Millfield Mine Disaster collection, Mahn Center for Archives and Special Collections, Alden Library, Ohio University) 26 pp. Report to Mr. George K. Smith, Chairman of the Board, The Sunday Creek Coal Company, Columbus, Ohio. Robinson, Rob and Comer, Jennifer, eds., No. 6 Mine of the Sunday Creek Coal Company, US Department of Labor, The Mine Safety and Health Administration and Joseph A. Holmes Safety Association Bulletin, (Joseph A. Holmes Safety Association Bulletin, National Mine Health and Safety Academy, Airport Road, Beaver, West Virginia May-June-July, pp.

Sunday Creek Coal Co. Mine No. 6 HAER No. OH-139 (Page 13) Watkins, Damon D., Keeping the Home Fires Burning: A Book About the Coal Miner, Millfield Disaster Memorial Edition. Second Edition. (Columbus, Ohio: The Ohio Company, 32- 34 West Noble Street), Library of Congress #: According to the foreword, Damon D. Watkins lived in Jacksonville, Athens County, Ohio, living across from the Cat Hole and later became a miner at Jacksonville . The Cat Hole was a name the miners gave one of the shafts entering old mine No. 4. While a student at Ohio University I was student pastor of the little Church of Christ in Millfield. There I met the girl, the daughter of a miner, who later became my wife, and there I came to know most of the men who died in the Millfield mine disaster. 9).

Damon Dewitt Watkins was born 8 Feb or in Jacksonville, Athens County, Ohio. His parents were Charles Watkins and Lydia Daines. He enlisted in the Student s Army Training Corps at Ohio University 1 Oct and received an honorable discharge 12 Dec (Ohio Soldiers in World War I, [Columbus, OH, The Heer Printing Co., p. He married Florence Ada Dennis and was living in an apartment on Fulton Street in Columbus in and serving as a Minister, Church of Christ. In the s he is minister of the Hillcrest Christian Church, Van Nuys, California. He died 10 January in Los Angeles, California. Zimmerman, Justin, Meeting Again: Remembering the Millfield Mine Disaster, graduate film project at Ohio University, features miner Sigmund Kozma. Sunday Creek Coal Co. Mine No. 6 HAER No.

OH-139 (Page 14) Historians: Annette G. Ericksen ASC, Group, Inc., Dawn E. Walter Gagliano, MA, ASC, Group, Inc., and Mary Ann Reeves, MA, ASC, Group, Inc.

Source document Quoted word for word from HAER OH-139. Not written, edited or summarised by this site.

The Historic American Engineering Record (HAER) is a long-range program that documents and interprets historically significant engineering sites and structures throughout the United States. HAER is part of Heritage Documentation Programs, a division of the National Park Service, United States Department of the Interior. On February 14, the Ohio Department of Natural Resources- Division of Mineral Resources Management (ODNR-DMRM), was informed that a shaft at this site had collapsed. A field visit conducted on that day found there are actually two shafts at this site that are posing a danger to the public. Prior to its collapse, the main shaft measured 25 long x 14 wide with walls and cap constructed of concrete.

The shaft walls extended through the soil zone and to a depth of more than 40 . The initial collapse event consisted of the concrete wall on the north side of the shaft falling into the shaft, leaving the cap and three adjacent walls intact. A few days later, two additional walls and the cap collapsed leaving only the southeast wall standing. The surrounding soil also fell into the shaft creating a large, funnel shaped sinkhole. The large sinkhole measures approximately 55 long x 45 wide. The sides of the sinkhole are very steep to concave and have undercut the ground surface leaving only a thin veneer of soil on the ground surface. The weight of a person may cause the thin veneer of soil to fall into the sinkhole. Therefore, this shaft poses a threat to those who visit this site.

A second shaft is known as the air shaft was still intact walls but appear to be weakened by decay and a small stream flowing into it. The stream has eroded and weakened the northwest wall as well as the soil around it. Because of its collapsed cap and the decayed condition of its walls, the air shaft poses a threat to those who visit this site.6 ODNR-DMRM proposed remediation of both locations and in consultation with the Ohio State Historic Preservation Office (OHPO) and the Advisory Council for Historic Preservation (ACHP) determined that the shafts would be filled and a HAER documentation and recordation be conducted for the site. ODNR- contracted with Hocking College Archaeological 6 ODNR-AML Millfield Shaft Emergency Project, Abandoned Land Mines Reclamation Project.

(Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Division of Mineral Resources Management, Columbus OH, Sunday Creek Coal Co. Mine No. 6 HAER No. OH-139 (Page 15) Laboratory (HCAL) to complete the documentation, under the direction of Annette G. Ericksen and Dawn Walter Gagliano. Mary Ann Reeves, Susan Loughridge, and Ronald W. Luce provided the research materials. Jeff Bates Photography provided the photographs and RVC Architects, Inc., assisted in the architectural drawings. The report was completed and submitted by Annette G. Ericksen and Dawn Walter Gagliano of ASC, Group, Inc., Milton, WV. List of key personnel and organizations: Annette G. Ericksen ASC, Group, Inc. Dawn E. Walter Gagliano, MA, ASC, Group, Inc. Mary Ann Reeves, MA, ASC, Group, Inc. Ronald W.

Luce, Executive Director, Athens County Historical Society and Museum David Reiser, RVC Architects, Inc. David Marrow, RVC Architects, Inc. Mark Morway, Senior CAD Technician, RVC Architects, Inc. Jeff Bates, Jeff Bates Photography Susan Loughridge, Historian, Independent Contractor Timothy Jackson, Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Abandoned Mine Lands, Division of Mineral Resources Management ASC Group, Inc. Hocking College and Hocking College Archaeological Laboratory Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Abandoned Mine Lands, Division of Mineral Resources Management