The Old Greeno Mine

By Naomi Bond, Betty Clowers, William Bond and Peggy Sturgill

From The Heritage of Wise County and The City of Norton - Volume I

 

            The Greeno Mine is located east of Tacoma, VA on State Highway Alternate 58. It was at one time part of the Pat Hagan estate. The Raven Seam dips inward approximately 10 per cent until it reaches the top of Guest Mountain. Then the seam levels off and has a dip of approximately 4 per cent. It has also been called The Greeno Slope and it is the largest block of Raven coal left in southwestern Virginia and runs from Tacoma to Norton and back to Coeburn. The Raven mine could be driven for approximately 22 miles to the limits of the Pine Mountain fault at Pound, VA.

            In 1910, the company operating the mine was known as Bond Coal Company. Mr. R. P. Bruce, an attorney of Wise, VA was president and Judge W. H. Bond, also of Wise, VA was Secretary and Treasurer. The Raven seam was called the Imboden seam at that time.

            On March 16, 1907 there was an explosion at this mine at which time 6 men were killed. Four men survived the explosion and walked out of the mine. There was also a small ignition of gas about 6 months previous to the explosion in 1910 but no fatalities resulted although it was reported that several men were slightly burned.

Norton Free Press Article concerning this explosion


            On December 14, 1910 at 9:10 a.m. the weather was quite cold and several inches of snow lay on the ground about the mouth of the slope. A strong current of cold air was entering the slope which was the intake and several inches of ice covered the floor of the slope in places. Pat Ramsey, later a member of the rescue party, was standing at the door of the blacksmith shop about 60 feet east of the mouth of the slope and directly at right angles to it. He stated that he heard a dull report and ran at once toward the slope mouth, but before he reached that point, a second report occurred. A rescue party was formed and went into the mine at 10:30 a.m. Several men from Clinchfield Corporation Mines at Dante, VA arrived at the mine at about 1:00 p.m. There were also volunteers from Tom's Creek, VA in the rescue party. The last of the bodies and the living men were out of the mine by 2:00 a.m. of December 15. Eight men were dead and four were living. Two of the living men had been on the Main Slope, and two on the entries to theleft of the Main Slope.

            Name of the Dead:

            James Bearrowman (or Bearyman or Barryman), Superintendent

            William Ritchie, Line Foreman

            Arch Leslie, Driver

            Gussie Ritchie, age 15, driver

            Lee Rowland, Trip Rider

            George Miller, Miner, Slavishman

            Charles Whittaker, Company Man

            Charles Williams, Miner

           

            Names of living and rescued men:

            John "Swede" alias Noden, Miner

            James Rosenburg, Company Man

            John Ritchy or Ritisky, Slavishman, Miner

            G. E. Lehman, Miner

           

            All of the men were American except where otherwise stated.

            At this time, a single air course paralleled the slope and was on the west side of it or on the left going inbye, with a pillar of about 30 feet in width between. The air course was said to be partially closed in places. All of the rooms on the west side of the slope were rapidly to the rise and in several of them considerable gas was found. A small fan was used for ventilating purposes and there was but one air current and this traversed the entire mine workings. The measurement of the quantity of the air circulating could not have been determined. The removal  of the irregular masses of coal and rock and in places the subsequent falling of the shale roof left pockets in the roof which were quickly filled by gas which was not readily removed by the ordinary ventilating appliances. In several places the coal was observed to have been mined from above and below lenses for a considerable distances. Horizontally lying lenses of sand rock cut out the coal in places and rendered mining operations difficult. Were it not for the fact that the Old Imboden Seam furnished coal of rather superior quality, it would have been rendered unprofitable by the presence of these rock lenses.

            A slope was driven directly down the rather steep dip of the seam to a distance of about 3000 feet. An air course was driven parallel to the Main Slope and on the east of it or left going inbye, cross entries and rooms are turned directly off the Main Slope and air course. All coal was shot off the solid though punchers had been used at one time and one was found in the 7th East. Black blasting powder was used in blasting the coal.

            The explosion was a local gas explosion originating in the 7th East and probably caused by the naked light of one of the three men whose bodies were found in that entry, igniting the pocket in the roof. The primary cause may have been the blowing of the gas in the cavity in the roof down onto the naked lights of the men below in an effort to brush the gas out of the entry by means of a compressed air hose or pipe.

            The explosion came across the slope from east to west as was shown by the stoppings blown down from right to left across the Main Slope. There was little coking of coal or dust since the Main Slope was quite wet and the explosion had little pure coal dust to propagate it.

            That the Mine Foreman, William Ritchie, knew the mine was gaseous was evidenced by the number of safety lamps which were found in the commissary and by the establishment of a checking board on the Main Slope where he met all the employees when they entered the mine at the beginning of the shift.

            The state of Virginia had no mine inspection service and consequently the smaller mines were not operated in accordance with the best mining practice. Mr. R. P. Bruce gave all possible assistance during the examination of the mine after the explosion.

            After a second explosion occurred in the early 1930's, the mine was not reopened for many years.

            Ray Hagan, Bond bought the Greeno property April 17, 1946. Several years after his death, on December 6, 1978 the Bondchild Corporation which is made up of the Ray Hagan Bond family, was formed and still owns the Greeno mine.

            The most recent mining was done by the Fountain Bay Mining Company Incorporated and consists mainly of the Robert M. Barr family of Orillia, Ontario, Canada.

            Many of the details of the mine explosion were taken from the report of J. J. Rutledge, Mining Engineer, Pittsburg, PA, August 12, 1911.


Greeno Photo 1
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