The 1869 disaster at Avondale involved both fire and depleted oxygen, and was the worst in the history of anthracite mining.
Two years before the catastrophe, the Steuben Coal Company built a breaker directly above the single shaft at the Avondale Colliery near Plymouth, PA. Like other mining companies at that time, it kept small fires burning at the bottom of shafts to create drafts that then promoted better air circulation for the working miners. Sparks from this ventilating furnace set fire to the timbers in the shaft, and the flames then engulfed the breaker at the surface — the only exit for those underground. The breaker collapsed into the shaft and the fire devoured the oxygen. Over 100 men and boys asphyxiated 300 feet below ground.
Our team at the mine entrance. It was filled in with bricks and dirt.
We arrived about an hour before sunset to figure how we were going to investigate it.For safety reasons we decided to stay together as one group. It was a very good investigation,we did get some EVP’s, ORBS, buried treasure, and we even brushed up on our mountain climbing skills.
Check out what appears to be a Miner’s face on the wall about the 3rd step up. Coincidence?
Katie taking photos
Mike on the camera
Chantel asking questions
Take a look at this picture we caught that appears to be a young blonde boy. Our gut reaction was that it was too good to be true, and that it had to be leaves or brush on the ground, so Bob actually went back to Avondale and took some pictures again and did some looking around to try and debunk it. As you can see in the second picture, there is nothing there that could have been mistaken for the little boy.
Bob finds a buried treasure! (It was part of a GPS hunt by GEOCACHING.com)The box was filled with treasures, so we added a treasure of our own and put it back for someone else to find
We only came up with one EVP here, but we were pretty happy with it.
You will hear Chantel ask “Would anyone like to get in the picture with us?” Then Katie says “Yeah, we’ll be more than happy to have you join” There will be a pause followed by what appears to be a quick “No”.
NEPA Paranormal would like to pay their respects to all 110 men and boys who perished in this horrible mining accident. Although it was a tragedy, it was not a total loss. These heroes helped pave the way for better mining conditions for future generations.
