On August 24, 1894, 37 miners die fighting a fire in the Oregon Improvement Co. coal mine at Franklin. The following day, a coroner's jury rules that the fire was caused by "party or parties unknown" who "did willfully, knowingly and maliciously cause said fire with intent and purpose to do great injury and damage to the lives of the miners and property of the Oregon Improvement Company." About the possibility of arson, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer reports, "few can be found here who are not in hearty accord with it."
Heinous Act
Franklin was located in the Green River Gorge, approximately 1.6 miles east of Black Diamond. Mine officials would not comment on the matter of potential arson, but the following exchange with a pit boss was noted:
"I have an idea who set the breast [the face being worked at the end of an excavation] on fire, but I won't say."
"Why?"
"Cause the man I suspect is dead. He was smothered in the level."
The fire might not have had a fatal effect except for the combination of two unrelated factors. A worker shut down a fan that supplied air to the different levels, and a gas tester, John E. John, searching for his miner son, opened a door from another area thinking it would drive the smoke out. This changed the air flow and trapped miners between two walls of smoke, about 1,300 feet below the surface. John was found with his son in his arms. Both were dead. The miners were apparently building a "stopping" or bulkhead to seal themselves off from the fire and smoke when they were overcome.
Oregon Improvement Co. superintendent Theron B. Corey (1846-1909) traveled from Seattle by train to supervise the recovery of bodies. The firm paid for the burials and contributed $4,000 to a fund for the support of widows and orphans. Approximately $2,000 was raised in contributions from citizens in Seattle and from mining communities. The dead miners were identified as follows:
Frank Willis, 27, African American, married, 2 children, buried at Franklin
Ed Maxwell, 21, African American, single, buried at Franklin
R. W. Jones, 23, African American, single, buried at Franklin
John Grantilli, 19, Italian, single, buried at Black Diamond
Joe Dawson, 19, English, single, buried at Black Diamond
H. R. Roberts, 22, African American, single, buried at Franklin
John Irvine, 23, African American, single, buried at Franklin
Joe Cassell, 19, Italian, single, buried at Seattle
Jim Gibson, 26, African American, married, buried at Franklin
Edward Johnson, 23, Swedish, single, buried at Seattle
Andy Engdahl, 33, Swedish, widowed, 3 children, buried at Black Diamond
John T. Pugh, 23, Welsh, married, 6 children, buried at Black Diamond
John L. Anderson, 30, Swedish, married, 3 children, buried at Seattle
William Secor, 26, American, married, 1 child, buried at Renton
Andy Greer, 26, African American, single, buried at Franklin
Joe Bossio, 26, Italian, single, buried at Black Diamond
Ike Clemmons, 38, African American, married, 3 children, buried at Franklin
Peter Perri, 19, Italian, single, buried at Seattle
Robert McCloskey, 18, Polish, single, buried at Newcastle
Evan D. Jones, 18, Welsh, single, buried at Black Diamond
Peter Hay, 28, Scottish, married, 6 children, buried at Franklin
Louis Farri, 30, Italian, single, buried at Franklin
Joe Standridge, 16, American, single, buried at Franklin
Phil Demari, 25, Italian, married, buried at Franklin
John E. John, 49, Welsh, married, 5 children, buried at Franklin
Evan John, 19, Welsh, single, buried at Franklin
John Morris, Welsh, married, 4 children, buried at Cedar Mountain
John Hall, 20, English, single, buried at Springbrook
Chris Dunkers, 19, American, singled, buried at Black Diamond
Charles Stevens, African American, buried at Franklin
Jacob Olson, 27, Swedish, married, 1 child, buried at Seattle
Frank Larson, Swedish, buried at Seattle
Evan Hughes, Welsh, buried at Renton
Rosco Tutti, 31, Italian, single, buried at Franklin
David D. Jones, 28, Welsh, married, 4 children, buried at Black Diamond
A. J. Jones, 29, African American, married, buried at Franklin
W. P. Jones, African American, buried at Franklin
