November 3, 1926

The state’s worst mining disaster occurred.

Fifty-one miners died in a cave-in at the Barnes-Hecker Mine near Ispheming. Many of the victims were working more than eight hundred feet beneath the surface of the earth when water unexpectedly rushed into the mine. The shocking loss left 132 minor children fatherless and created 42 widows.

Thank you Michigan Start Pages for this glimpse into our past.  See more here.