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"The Avondale Colliery Disaster–Bringing out the Dead," Harpers Weekly, September 6, 1869.
Credit: From Harpers Weekly, 1869 courtesy the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission
Killing an unprecedented number of miners, the Avondale mine collapse attracted national attention and unprecedented scrutiny of the work conditions that led to death on such a large scale. It also forced the Pennsylvania state government to pass legislation that required mine companies to provide basic protections for their workers.