On the 6th of December, 1907 - 361 coal miners, many of them from countries far across the sea, perished under these hills in the worst mining disaster of our nation. The four who escaped died of injuries. Note : caskets line the streets of Monongah.

Around 10 o'clock in the morning after a full force of 380 men and boys had begun their shift, mines number 6 and 8 of the Consolidated Coal Company shook from the impact of an underground explosion. A total of 361 men and boys lost there lives leaving 250 widows and over 1000 children without support

Crowds gathered at the entrances of the two mines waiting for news about their friends and family trapped in the mines. The news was disheartening. Many of the bodies brought up were mangled and burned. A temporary morgue had to be set up in a partially completed bank building to accommodate the victims. Bodies were identified by their personal effects and some were never identified.