Community honors 80th Anniversary of Powhatan Point Number 1 Mine Fire

POWHATAN POINT, Ohio (WTRF) — Residents in one local community paid tribute to 66 mine workers who lost their lives in one of the area’s most horrific mine disasters.

This year marks the 80th anniversary of the Powhatan Point Number 1 mine fire.

The disaster took place on July 5, 1944, when a trolley wire shorted and ignited the fire, which trapped all 66 workers deep inside the mine.

On Friday, UMWA members and community members gathered to at the site of the memorial that bears the names of those lost in the blaze.

Jerry Vinni is the Retired Secretary Treasure of District 6 United Mineworkers of America.

He gave an account of the events of that fateful day.

These people were patriots. They were essential to war efforts and in WWII they produced electricity, the steel, everything, the ammunition for our country. Coal ran the country at that time and these guys were just as big of patriots as anybody else was and they lost their lives in the mining industry.”

Jerry Vinni, Member, United Mine Workers Local

A wreath was laid at the foot of the mineworkers memorial in the Powhatan Cemetery.

According to The Historical Marker Database, the Powhatan fire was the area’s last mining disaster of the 20th century.

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