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.
By 1958 the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) had developed the technical means to televise live events, this unfortunate event becoming the first to be televised live internationally by the CBC.
...The third Springhill mine disaster occurred two years later, on 23 October 1958, the result of a 'bump' — an underground seismic event caused when coal is dislodged from a seam or coalface, usually as a result of erratic natural forces or unexpectedly during extraction. The resulting stress can cause the immediate collapse of surrounding bedrock, bringing down as well wooden support pillars and the roofs of mine tunnels and chambers. The tremendous internal pressures thus created and released can also reverberate along and throughout the coal seam. The 1958 'Springhill Bump' was the most severe in North American mining history....
...The last survivors were found on 1 November; thereafter, the rescuers encountered only the deceased, their bodies so decomposed that they were brought to the surface in airtight aluminum coffins. Of the 174 miners working in No.4 Colliery at the time of the bump, 100 were trapped and later rescued; 74 were killed.
Mine disasters then and now attract immediate, world-wide public attention. Canadian and international news media travelled to Springhill in the aftermath of the bump. The disaster made an unusually deep impact on the general public, because
it was the first major international story in Canada to be covered by live television broadcasts — a new service being developed by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC).
From the Nova Scotia Archives
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