Coal mining in Springhill began in about 1870 and went relatively smoothly until 1891, when Springhill became infamous for the explosion and fire that killed 125 miners and injured dozens more. It was the worst mining disaster in Canada to that time. Disaster came again to Springhill in 1956, this time with a coal dust explosion killing 39 miners. This was followed two years later by the 1958 "bump". A bump is an underground earthquake, generally caused by collapse of voids in a mine, and this one was the worst in North American mining history. The bump killed 75 of the 174 miners underground at the time, with the remaining 99 being rescued.
The 1958 bump became the first major international event to appear in live television broadcasts (on the CBC). It also resulted in the permanent closure of the last coal mine in Springhill, devastating the town which had relied almost exclusively on the mines for employment. Before 1958, Springhill had been, for many decades, one of the most economically important coal mining centres in Canada.
Now a Canadian National Historic Site, a CHNS plaque is mounted on a large boulder at the site of the infamous No.2 and No.4 collieries, at the corner of Industrial Park Drive and Memorial Crescent. The site has since become the Springhill Miners' Museum. On the site are turn of the century remains of the Springhill coal mines as well as later buildings with, we assume, coal mining and mining disaster displays. I say "we assume" as we visited a little too early in the season and the museum was not yet open. Outside displays were available to view, however.
Adjacent to the CNHS plaque is a second boulder bearing a second plaque which commemorates the 50th anniversary of the "1958 bump", as well as all the men who toiled underground in the Springhill collieries.
Remembering '58
This plaque was unveiled
October 23, 2008 on the 50th anniversary of
the "bump" and is dedicated to the men
and boys who toiled underground over the
years in the Springhill collieries.
"They may rest from their labours;
And Their works do follow them.
Revelations 14:13
SPRINGHILL COAL MINING
One of the most commercially important coalfields in Canada, Springhill played a key role in the golden age of Nova Scotia coal mining. Between the 1870s and 1940s, Springhill coal, along with that from Cape Breton and Pictou, was marketed throughout the Maritimes and Quebec, and fuelled the railways and manufactories transforming Nova Scotia's economy. Local mining operations hinged on the completion of the Intercolonial Railway and the emergence of the Cumberland Coal and Railway Company. They depended also on the labour of highly skilled miners working in underground conditions which were prone to explosions and underground convulsions or bumps. Songs and stories still eloquently recall the courage of these miners in the face of disasters that took a terrible toll in lives. The remnants of the mine include components of the surface plant of the No. 2 and No. 4 mines, twice struck by tragedy in the 1950s, as well as the only historic underground slope still accessible in the province. These resources comprise the best collection of in situ heritage mining features in the province and evoke a bygone era, when Nova Scotia coal mining was one of Canada's most important industries.