Barrackville launches plan to place memorial for Mine Explosion from 100 years ago
BARRACKVILLE — After 100 years, the Barrackville Mine Explosion will finally receive its own monument.
Members of the Barrackville community gathered at the Lions Community Building to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the disaster where 33 men lost their lives.
'One day I just thought, why don't we have a memorial, why are we not recognizing our miners when similar memorials are in place at other communities,' maintenance coordinator Josh Bartlett said. 'Barrackville's a coal mining town. We had a mine for over 80 years, so to not have something to look back at what formed our community, what's woven into the fabric still today.'
Bartlett said after bringing the lack of a memorial to the attention of the Barrackville Lions Club and Town Council, everyone embraced the idea with open arms.
Bartlett's family has a connection to the disaster. His father managed the company store when the mine explosion happened. Bartlett said his family passed stories of that terrible night down through generations of his family.
Pastor Stephanie Bennett, who helped organize the event Monday night, said the explosion was the largest of three disasters that happened in Barrackville. A total of 11 mining accidents have taken place in Marion County. Bennett said the disaster, and coal mining more generally, have shaped the community, whether it's aware of it not.
'Lives have been lived and lost here,' she said. 'There are people in this community who worked in that mine before it closed. There are people in this community who had grandfathers and great-grandfathers that worked in that mine, and it's just a way to remember the cost of coal.'
Former Sen. Mike Caputo spoke at the event on behalf of the United Mine Workers of America as a former officer. He said he's spoken at a lot of memorial services like the one at Barrackville and across West Virginia.
'They didn't care much about the miner at that time,' Caputo said. 'They cared more about production. A lot of times, they cared more about the mule than they cared about the mine.'
Bartlett said he thought there was a possibility of foul play which led to the mine explosion on March 17, 1925. There was a lot of union turmoil going on at the time and the mine wasn't unionized, the miners there were considered scabs he said.
Caputo said after the explosion happened, the union still showed up to help and provide relief. Although any wrongdoing was cleared at the time, Bartlett said a lot of historical documents were kind of sketchy and a rumor of foul play persisted. He suspects a potential coverup created a stigma that led the disaster to being forgotten and no memorial ever created.
'But I don't think it'll be forgotten anymore with the group of people that are here today,' he said.
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