In August of 1963, three miners were stuck 330 feet below the ground when the Sheppton mine caved in. Two of the miners stuck together and waited two weeks for rescue, initially eating tree bark and sucking water out of the bark for survival. Within a week, holes...
With all the attention Centralia gets, it’s amazing most people are unaware of other mine fires and disasters. I admit I had never heard of Avondale until I went looking for a geocache hidden there. How does a mine disaster site with a 100+ death toll become overlooked?...
The term “coal baron” exists for a reason. In 1959, the owners of Knox Mine got greedy and had workers dig within 5-6 feet of the Susquehanna’s river bed; 30 feet is the normal stopping distance. The river broke through the thin rock layer and immediately began to...
Stockton Mine was like any other anthracite mine in northeastern PA until one early morning in 1869, when some of the ground above the mine suddenly collapsed. A few homes were swallowed up, and nobody inside had time to escape. The rift kept growing, and the buildings that...
In the summer of 1832, Philip Duffy, a railroad contractor, hired 57 Irish immigrants on the docks of Philadelphia. They were to fill in a ravine near present-day Malvern so rails for a new track could be laid. They began their task, but only 6 weeks later all...
I would like to thank the Lakehurst Naval Air Station, especially Larry Lyford, for granting me access to the monument. Many people know what the Hindenburg is, but not many are aware the disaster occurred right in Lakehurst. On May 6, 1937, the Hindenburg, an 804 foot long...
It’s not really what’s at Bear Swamp Hill, because honestly there isn’t all too much to see – it’s moreso learning what happened there and then finding the remaining bits of evidence. In January of 1971, a plane coming from the McGuire Air Force Base crashed into the...
We had read about something strange among the dunes near Strathmere, just north of Sea Isle City. While not very large and not necessarily worth the drive from Bayville, it sure is…..different. From the road, it just looks like a high part of the dunes – with a...
