Yes.
The two mines were connected along one heading. In mine #6 this heading was called “F face”. The #8 mine had a collection of names for its side of this same heading: “No. 8 North Heading”, “2nd North Heading”, and/or “2nd Right Heading”.
Inspector LaRue describes in a report about the disaster to the mine department that the two mines are “connected near their centers by three small openings, each covering the area of 70 feet”, along a singular heading.
L.E. Trader, fire boss for #6, describes in his testimony how two of these openings were fitted out. In the “entry farthest from the river” (highlighted in light blue and marked “1” in the image above), a wooden stopping was placed about 15′ beyond 4th right on F face to close the connection.
In the entry closest to the river (highlighted in light green and marked “3”), was a thick wooden door which opened towards #6 at the time of the disaster. Unlike the center entry which he could not describe, Trader had been through this doorway entry on F face and could confirm that it had at one point been blocked by a pair of double iron gates which men could still move through & past. But Trader said that once the thick doors were put in place, the iron gates were removed and the doors remained, “locked with a chain—locked on No. 8 side and on our side. The chain passed through a hole about a foot from the edge of the door—two feet long.”
In these connecting headings there were doors so that each mine was separately ventilated at the time of the accident, the object of connecting them being the ability to ventilate each mine from either opening in case of necessity. It has been shown that this was entirely practicable as this method of ventilation has been carried on at various times when either of the fans was undergoing repairs, and was the temporary method used during the going repairs, and was the temporary method used during the investigation following the explosion owing to the destruction of one of the fans… – Mines and Minerals Vol. 28, pg 278
Was this illegal or irresponsible at the time?
No.
Connected mines were legal and strictly regulated by the mine department to the point that the mine department could even order a company to connect to another mine or face penalty. Several mines around the state were in the process of connecting to other existing mines when disaster fell upon them earlier in the year.
There were several reasons why two mines, particularly those known to be gaseous (which #6 & #8 were not), would want to be or were required to be connected underground. The first critical reason was a mining method called “Double (Triple) Entry”. This method had been made formal law in West Virginia some years prior to the disaster as it permitted more ventilation through the mines and required at least 2 entry points for workers to get in and out of a mine. This is certainly why when C.W. Watson was questioned right after the disaster about the reason for having the mines connected, he simply replied to the reporters that it was “for the purpose of giving more openings.”
Connected workings underground also made large machine repairs more efficient and could be used in emergencies as an added “escape route” for workers in the deepest parts of the mines. This is quite likely why #8 mine boss, John McGraw, was found several days after the disaster deceased on the #6 side just beyond this connection. His remains were able to be identified by friends as well as by the contents of his pockets indicating that he likely survived the initial blasts and was trying to escape into #6 mine when the damps eventually overtook him.
For mines over a certain size, or shaft mines which require miners to take them underground, or the mines formally classified as “highly gaseous” connection to another mine to provide extra ventilation and access for workers was the standard method long before 1907.
For more:
- Mines and Minerals, Vol. 28
- Report of Hearings before the Joint Select Committee of the Legislature of West Virginia
- LaRue’s Testimony – pg 473 – 482
- Lester Trader’s Testimony – pg 309 – 319
- Library of Congress – Chronicling America – Newspaper Archives
- Clarksburg Daily Telegram – C.W. Watson
- Fairmont West Virginian – John McGraw
© 2026 Katie Orwig. All Rights Reserved.
