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May 31, 2019 - Faculty members of the King’s College History Department will conduct a community commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the Baltimore Mine disaster at 10 a.m. Wednesday, June 5.  The event will be held at the site of the Pennsylvania historical marker honoring the almost 100 miners who were killed on June 5, 1919.  The marker is located at the corner of Pine and Spring streets (entrance of Spring Street Plaza) in Wilkes-Barre. 

In case of inclement weather, the event will be held on the third floor of the Campus Center at King’s College.  The Campus Center is located between N. Main and N. Franklin streets and between W. Union and W. Jackson streets in Wilkes-Barre.

The ceremony will begin with an invocation, followed by remarks from members of the King’s College history department as well as a representative from the Anthracite Heritage Foundation.  A reading of a proclamation from the Pennsylvania State Senate sponsored by Sen. John Yudichak and Senator Lisa Baker will be read by a member of Senator Yudichak’s office.  Yudichak’s office staff provided invaluable assistance with the arrangements for the event. 

A public reading of the names of the 92 miners who were killed in the incident will follow.  The historical marker was dedicated in January 2014 and was a joint project of the City of Wilkes-Barre and King’s College faculty and students. 

On June 5, 1919, 143 miners entered the Delaware & Hudson Coal Company’s Baltimore Mine tunnel No. 2 in Wilkes-Barre.  The miners rode in a train of 16 mine cars, including two middle cars that contained barrels of black powder.  It is believed that the black powder was accidently ignited by a spark and exploded, killing 92 miners and injuring 44.  The Baltimore Mine disaster was one of the deadliest industrial disasters in Pennsylvania’s history. Circumstances of the incident led to the prohibition of miners and explosives being transported in the same train.