Avondale Mine Disaster

Avondale Mine Disaster is a Pennsylvania historical marker in Plymouth Twp., Luzerne County, dedicated 1994.

W Main St. (US 11), ~ a mile E of PA 29 junction, Plymouth Twp.

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On September 6, 1869, a fire broke out at the nearby Avondale Colliery, trapping the miners. The eventual death toll was 110. This included five boys between the ages of twelve and seventeen, and two volunteers who were suffocated while attempting rescue. As a result of this disaster, Pennsylvania's General Assembly enacted legislation in 1870 which was designed to enforce greater safety in the industry.

TodayHistorical map

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David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries

Historical maps covering this location

1865 · County map of the State of Pennsylvania (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
1865 · Johnson's New Jersey (1865) (Barry Lawrence Ruderman Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
1871 · Plate F. East Central Pennsylvania. (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
1878 · Pennsylvania. (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
1891 · Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania (USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection)

Plate F. East Central Pennsylvania, 1871, covering the location of Avondale Mine Disaster, with a pin at the marker's coordinates — Plate F. East Central Pennsylvania, 1871, covering this location. David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries. The pin is ours, placed from the marker's coordinates.

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Marker data: Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission via data.pa.gov

Avondale Mine Disaster

Historical maps covering this location

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