1926 — Jan 13, Wilburton No. 21, Coal Mine Gas/Dust Explosion, Wilburton, OK — 91
Compiled by Wayne Blanchard; last edit 3-16-2025 for upload to: http://www.usdeadlyevents.com/
–92 Waterloo Evening Courier (IA). “One Miner Crawls Over Scores of Dead…” 1-14-1926.
–91 Bureau of Mines, US Dept. of Interior. Official Report…Explosion…Wilburton…No. 21
–91 Kalisch, “Ordeal of the Oklahoma Coal Miners” Coal Mine Disasters in Sooner State”
–91 National Fire Protection Association (NFPA). Key Dates in Fire History. 1996.
–91 National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, CDC. Mining Disasters.
–91 United States Mine Rescue Assoc. Mine Disasters in the United States. Wilburton No. 21.
Narrative Information
Bureau of Mines, US Dept. of Interior. Official Report…Explosion…Wilburton…No. 21:
“….This investigation…shows, that the mining laws were not being complied with in regard to cross cuts, which carry the ventilating currents through the working places as the law requires that they shall be made not to exceed 30 feet in each pillar of coal on each side of working place which the ventilating current should be carried around the working places, at rate of 200 cubic feet per minute.
“If the mining laws had been complied with, this disaster would not have occurred. The law further provides, that all dust must be sprinkled, or sprayed, or removed from the mine. This too was not being complied with….” (p. 4.)
“Conclusions: This investigation shows the wisdom if insisting upon strict compliance with the State Mining Laws on ventilation, in order to delute [sic] and render harmless accumulation of gases, and the importance of co-operation on the part of the fire bosses, Mine foremen and superintendents with the Mining department in keeping the proper amount of air in all working places. It also reveals that it is important that the working miners co-operate with the Mining department in reporting any dangerous condition that might come under their observation, in order that inspectors may be sent to correct the dangerous conditions.
“We further concluded that this investigation shows the necessity of rock-dusting, to prevent, and the localizing effects of explosions, thereby reducing the loss of lives and property….” (p. 5.)
Kalisch: “Wilburton was racked by a third disaster on January 13, 1926 when gas, ignited by an open light, exploded and 91 men were killed by ‘afterdamp’ or gas as they were trying to escape the shaft.[1] The blast had blown out timbers in the hoisting shaft and the cages had fallen to the bottom. Although ‘scores of wives, children sweethearts, and friends’ waited for good news, only ten men were brought out alive. Three men owed their lives to superstition as they held the ‘13th of the month’ in awe and refused to enter the mine that day.[2] (p. 338)
Newspapers
Jan 13: “Wilburton, Okla., Jan. 13. — (AP) — Most of the 105 men working in the Degnan-McConnell mine three miles west of here are believed to have been instantly killed today in a terrific explosion that wrecked the main shaft and entombed them. A rescue crew started work at 10:30 a. m. and will attempt to reach the trapped men thru the airshaft, which is still open. Some of the victims are still alive and conversed with rescuers thru the airshaft. They were advised to remain near the shaft….
”The blast wrecked the tipple and destroyed the hoisting equipment. Emergency hoisting apparatus was being installed to bring out the victims after they are reached. Frantic groups of the entombed men’s relatives gathered about the mine.
“Word of the explosion spread quickly and crowds of sightseers from neighboring towns assembled. The shaft was roped off to hold back the crowds and expedite the rescue work. Workmen from other mines in the Wilburton valley rushed to the scene and volunteered their assistance in the rescue work. Rescue work was being hindered somewhat by the blocking of the main passageway into the mine. The first rescue crew was forced to turn back a second time. They were unable to squeeze their way thru the debris blown into the road-way by the explosion. Previously they had turned back to don smaller gas masks when larger ones were found to be burdensome and in the way….” (Waterloo Evening Courier (IA). “Terrific Mine Explosion Entombs 105 Victims.” 13 Jan 1926, 1.)
Jan 14: “Wilburton, Okla., Jan. 14. — (AP) – Cecil McKinney…one of the…miners entombed by the explosion in Degnan-McConnell mine No. 21, near here early yesterday, was rescued this morning. McKinney is the first survivor to come out of the lower levels of the mine.
“McKinney said he had crawled in the mine passage over dead bodies for 23 hours. He was in a state of nervous exhaustion, when rescue workers brought him to the surface. His clothing was water soaked and his face covered with soot…. “There are 15 dead bodies in entry 16, east, where I was working at the time the explosion occurred….I don’t know where I crawled or how long I crawled but I just squeezed thru and finally found a slope and came to the bend where you found me.”
”McKinney said he did not think any in the mine were alive. Fire which has been raging in the fourteenth level was extinguished early today, rescuers said, and the work of rescuing the bodies went forward rapidly. Between 50 and 75 men were on hand to aid rescue crews as they are needed. Three more bodies have been brought to the cage shaft and are ready to be drawn out. Six were brought out last night. Three others were uncovered and can be brought to the surface at any time. The other men are believed to be buried so deeply beneath debris that it will be two or three days before their bodies can be removed….Bodies of the men brought to the surface indicated that they had burned to death….The death toll now stands at 92.” (Waterloo Evening Courier (Iowa). “One Miner Crawls Over Scores of Dead Companions to Safety When Flames in Oklahoma Mine Die Down.” January 14, 1926.)
Sources
Bureau of Mines, U.S. Department of Interior. Official Report of Ed Boyle, Chief Mine Inspector, and Robert H. Brown, District Mine Inspector, of the District No. 1, of the Explosion Wilburton Latimer County Oklahoma, in Mine No. 21, of the Eastern Coal and Mining Company, on the 13th, Day of January, 1926. 91 Lives Were Lost. Accessed 3-16-2025 at: https://usminedisasters.miningquiz.com/saxsewell/01-13-1926_wilburton.pdf
Kalisch, Philip A. “Ordeal of the Oklahoma Coal Miners,” pp. 331-340 in Chronicles of Oklahoma, Vol. XVLIII, No. 3. 1970. Digitized by Google. Accessed at: http://books.google.com/books?id=1TMUAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA338&dq=Bureau+of+Mines+Bulletin+586&ei=OL1eSdaRFYPmzATs-ZS_BA#PPA263,M1
National Fire Protection Association. Key Dates in Fire History. 1996. Accessed 2010 at: http://www.nfpa.org/itemDetail.asp?categoryID=1352&itemID=30955&URL=Research%20&%20Reports/Fire%20statistics/Key%20dates%20in%20fire%20history&cookie%5Ftest=1
National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Mining Safety and Health Research.. Mining Disasters (Incidents with 5 or more Fatalities). NIOSH, CDC, 2-26-2013 update. Accessed at: https://wwwn.cdc.gov/NIOSH-Mining/MMWC/MineDisasters/Table
United States Mine Rescue Association. Mine Disasters in the United States.
Waterloo Evening Courier, IA. “One Miner Crawls Over Scores of Dead Companions to Safety When Flames in Oklahoma Mine Die Down.” January 14, 1926. Accessed at: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/PdfViewerTags.aspx?img=93265931&firstvisit=true&src=search¤tResult=0
Waterloo Evening Courier, IA. “Terrific Mine Explosion Entombs 105 Victims.” 1-13-1926, p. 1. Accessed at: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/PdfViewerTags.aspx?img=93265924&firstvisit=true&src=search¤tResult=2
[1] Cites W.W. Fleming and C.A Herbert, “Report of the Explosion at No. 21 Mine, Wilburton, Oklahoma, January 13, 1926” in Bureau of Mines Bulletin 586, pp. 105-106.
[2] Cites Dallas Morning News, December 18, 1929,