Frontier Mine No. 1 Disaster, 100 Years


I have not updated this blog for quite some time, since I have been extremely busy.  I have been working diligently over at the Kemmerer City Cemetery in Kemmerer, Wyoming drawing up burial maps of the 99 miners killed in the Frontier Mine No. 1 accident.  I was able, with the great help of the cemetery office staff, Emily and Shannon, to get all but 5 graves located.  Those five coalminers are buried in the cemetery according to their death certificates, but the cemetery has no location.   

After completing the map, I worked on short bio's for each coalminer as requested by the South Lincoln Historical Society.  That was a large project to narrow down important information about each miner.  Then, I drew out a walking trail through the cemetery for the easiest and most logical way to visit all of the graves.

Finally, I was able to go to a Kemmerer City Council Meeting, a South Lincoln Historical Society Meeting, and a South Lincoln Historical Society Meeting tour of the mine area.  

In addition, I made up 99 yellow flowers, flags for the unmarked graves, and a basket of flowers with the names of miners who were buried elsewhere.  I place the flowers throughout the cemetery and oh what a humbling sight.  

So many hours for this project, but it was an honor and I will be able to use most of the information I worked on, like the cemetery map locations, for my book. 

I had an opportunity to meet a new cousin in Kemmerer.  Oh, that was so much fun learning about her and her family.  And she is willing to help me out when I am in Kemmerer!  Sweet!

Today, I was able to locate two maps of the town of Frontier and the Frontier Mine No. 1 from 1912.  I downloaded the maps and ran to the office supply store and was able to get them printed, and oh they looked so beautiful. This will help me understand where all the mine structures and workings were located.  The land has been reclaimed over the years, roads were built, and the area looks much different than it was 100 years ago.  

I am still volunteering at the Rock Springs Historical Museum and at the Family History Center weekly.  

I seem to update more on Facebook, so please follow me there.

Happy genealogy and sleuthing, my dear readers.

Here are the links:

100th Anniversary Commemoration 14 August 2023

Photographs

100th Anniversary Commemoration-My Feelings

And, the Kemmerer Gazette wrote this:

Frontier Mine Victims Remembered

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