The Hillcrest Mine Disaster

Although early 20th century coal mines had various government regulations in place, the deadly combination of poor ventilation, coal dust and errant sparks caused by machinery or men often proved fatal to those who worked these mines. In the shadow of Turtle Mountain, and the ruble of the Frank Slide, the workers at the Hillcrest Mine had started their morning shift on June 19, 1914, when an explosion ripped through Tunnel 33. Of the 235 men at work that day, 189 were killed. Many area families lost all of their men that day in Canada's worst mining tragedy.