First, it's the site where the bodies of the miners were recovered following the Christmas disaster and it's also the site where legendary UMW President John L. Lewis went underground only two days after the explosion. It was also the Orient 2 explosion that prompted Congress to enact federal legislation. On July 16, 1952, President Harry S. Truman signed into law the Federal Coal Mine Safety Act, after John L. Lewis testified before Congress about the disaster. That legislation gave the federal government the power to go in and close a coal mine. |
I feel that we should all be made aware of that site and that it should remain intact. Coal mining has made resurgence and with every tragedy comes a benefit and the benefit from the Orient 2 explosion is that new federal laws were enacted that no doubt saved other miners' lives. This site has been and it remains an important part of the nation's history concerning coal mining and it's located right here in Franklin County. |
If there ever is a national coal mining museum I will push that this site should be preserved as either a memorial site or an extension or a part of such a site. |
The buildings are basically intact for all practical purpose. The site needs some work, but this is the identifying site of the state's worst coal mining disaster and that needs to be preserved. |