PLYMOUTH TWP. — The Plymouth Historical Society recently unveiled a mural created by Artist Joel Carson Jones, a native of Plymouth, at the Avondale Mine Site in Plymouth Township.
The mural was funded through donations from the Earth Conservancy and local residents.
On Sept. 6, 1869, a fire broke out in the mine. Some of the 110 who died were Civil War Veterans.
Plymouth Historical Society Board Member James Youells told of the 108 miners and two rescuers who perished in the fire at the site.
Scranton Mayor Paige Cognetti spoke of the 61 miners who resided in Scranton who were among the victims. She said many of the miners lived in the Hyde Park section of Scranton. One of the miners, Thomas Hatton, had brought his 10-year-old son, Willie, with him to show him what he did for a living. Willie was found in his father’s arms.
The mural acknowledges all those men and boys who worked in the mining industry.
Many of those who attended the ceremony were descendants of the miners.