Adventure: Darr Mine

With the mining accidents of recent years, it's easy to forget the tragedies of the past. As the steel industries grew in the valleys around Pittsburgh, the need for coal was on the rise. Coal mines were dug plentifully along the rivers in the lesser settled areas and were operated cheaply and dangerously by mostly immigrant workers. The Darr Mine was operated along the banks of the Youghiogheny River and was the site of one of the worst mining accidents in the country. In the early 1900's, an explosion occurred in the mine killing over 200 of it's workers. The blast, which was largely a result for the lack of care by ownership for the safety of the miners, mamed the victims, many of which were disfigured so badly they could not even be identified and were placed in one large grave together. Operations only continued for a few more years afterwards until it was closed permanently.


Of course, ever since, it has been widely believed that the mine is haunted by the poor workers that were killed despite the entrances being sealed off. The sounds of swinging pick axes resonate from below ground and many report hearing the disgruntled, disembodied voices speaking in Hungarian at night. Knowing that fellow adventurer Alpha Omega (AO) was very familiar with the area, I convinced him to help guide the one and only Captain Crash into the dismal remnants of the Darr Mine to look for 219 ghosts as some of the very few to enter in decades.

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I set out for this spooky trek on a cold day in late fall. Before meeting up with AO, I stopped at the Olive Branch Cemetery to pay my respects to the miners that were killed. Afterall, I was going to disturb the place they supposedly haunt.  Sadly, this single grave contains what remained of many of the workers. At least the tombstone is nice.

After meeting AO at Youghiogheny river, he began guided me upstream toward an access point he had uncovered at some point or another. That little bastard knew a lot of other points of interest along the way so I was of course obliged to check them out. As we approached the vicinity of Flack Hollow, I started spoting some good indications of former mining operations. Old foundations of the dead industry  and plenty of coal refuse dominated the woods.

Taking even more of a side trip, we hiked right up along Campbells Run into Flack Hollow. The stream was serene as we passed under a towering train tressle before approaching a nicely flowing Campells Falls.

By the time we were back on our way to the mine darkness had fallen. The full moon and the lights from the old mining town of Smithton made for a really creepy background over the Yough. A perfect setting for investigating a place alleged to be truly haunted.

Finally, by flashlight AO brought me to our destination. Despite never having been inside, AO was able to point out the entrance... which in actuality was an open airshaft. I packed in caving gear but no rappelling gear so it was about to get interesting. After shimmying down the tiny hole, the mine opened up to some tunnels big enough to walk in. Everything looked rather untouched, which made sense considering how long its been since anyone has gone in. It was tough to breath and you could easily tell the air was indeed poisonous. We couldn't stay long. AO served perfectly as a guide this far, but with a little more experience in caving and the like, I took over and lead the way from here. 

 

We eventually hit dead ends in each direction as mine collapses closed the mine shafts. Remember that tiny vertical hole we shimmied down? Yeah, it was tough to get back up... especially with all the mud we tore up on the way in. I boosted AO up first then he reached down to give me a hand coming to the surface for some fresh, non-explosive air.

Obviously, I made the climb all the way out and we hiked back to the Jeep in total darkness. No ghosts to report in the mine, but we didn't cover much ground inside due to collapses and that whole poisonus, flammable gas thing. I give total credit to the men who went in and out of those places every day to make a living... and in cases like this, giving their lives doing so. 

Tally-ho!

-Crash