On May 12, 1942, a worker in the Christopher No. 3 mine at Osage—just outside Morgantown—left a ventilation door open, and methane accumulated in a dusty area of the mine. At 2:25 in the afternoon, an electric arc from machinery set off an explosion that coursed through three sections of the mine, killing 53 men, destroying ventilation equipment, and causing roof falls. Three others later suffocated in the noxious ‘‘afterdamp’’ gasses. Several miners managed to reach safety through a return airway.
The Christopher No. 3 was one of many mines along Scotts Run that had produced coal for decades. Miraculously, none had ever suffered a major disaster until the incident at Osage in 1942. Within the next eight months, though, the area would experience two more tragedies.
Only two months later—in July 1942—a roof fall at Pursglove No. 2 triggered an explosion that killed 20 miners. Then, in early January 1943, a haulage locomotive fire spread to the coal seam in Pursglove No. 15, killing 12. In eight months, three coal mine disasters along Scotts Run had taken the lives of 89 men.
West Virginia University researchers recently completed a year-long project exploring the history of a coal community in Monongalia County, using photos and oral history to create an exhibit.
Scott’s Run is a five-mile area that stretches along the banks of the Monongahela River, about four miles from West Virginia University.
Today less than 2,000 people live there, and the former towns in Scotts Run – such as Osage and Cassville – are all unincorporated.
But, in the early 1900s the area was booming from the coal industry. Its main economic advantage was its proximity to the river, railroads and coal resources. But, by the 1930s during the Great Depression, like much of the country, Scott’s Run hit hard times.
Credit Photo courtesy of West Virginia and Regional History Center
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School children at Osage, a town within Scott’s Run, with their Sunday school teacher in the 1940s. When researchers showed this photo to Scott’s Run elders one said, “As youngsters on Osage Hill we all played together. No difference in color. We didn’t know a difference until we went to school.”
Consequently, the community banded together, creating a family-like bond that still exists today.
“There’s this community that is a completely different world from what you’ve seen of Morgantown that has this history that’s very much the history of West Virginia,” said Kristina Hash, a professor of social work at WVU.
Hash was one of six researchers on the team that studied Scott’s Run. Other researchers included Catherine Gouge, Lori Hostuttler, Tamba M’bayo, Christine Rittenour and Tyler Redding.
The project was funded in 2018 through a grant from the West Virginia University Humanities Center.
Many photos were taken of the people of Scott’s Run during the Great Depression years, Hash said. Using these photos, she and her team documented stories from West Virginians who were children during the early years of Scott’s Run.
About a dozen of the original residents of Scott’s Run still get together every weekend. Hash said the sense of community is strong.
“People that had a really diverse community that lived in harmony that centered around coal and together faced major tragedy,” she said.
All the research was compiled into a video and an exhibit that has been donated to the Scott’s Run Museum where it will be permanently on display. The museum is open every Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
