About This Collection
Images of reports, sketches, correspondence, and other files relative to fatalities at mining facilities in both the anthracite and bituminous coal regions, excluding the years 1936-1937, 1964-1968 for anthracite and 1950-1951 for bituminous. The reports are very detailed, presenting a wide-variety of information concerning all aspects of fatal incidents that occurred both inside and outside of particular Pennsylvania collieries. A report from the Department of Mines is nearly always present, many times accompanied by an additional one from the Department of Labor and Industry's Bureau of Workmen's Compensation. The template of the main Department of Mines synopsis, and the information given, changed slightly over time. There were also different forms for different types of accidents, such as a specific form for deaths resulting from a fall of rock, one for "general" inside or outside fatalities, etc. These reports dovetail with the accident registers for both the anthracite and bituminous districts in Record Group 45, which have been converted into databases and are available online. These databases should be the first resource used by researchers when looking for information relative to a miner who suffered a fatal mining-related accident. If the name of a fatally injured miner is found on the database, this series of accident reports can be consulted for detailed information on both the miner and the accident.
