West Frankfort was a prosperous coal mining town. 

But West Frankfort’s proud community was gravely marred by a major mine disaster on December 21, 1951 when the Orient 2 Mine exploded, killing 119 coal miners. Almost every person in West Frankfort and the nearby towns was affected, either directly or indirectly. A detailed history of the disaster was published as Death Underground. The Centralia and West Frankfort Mine Disasters, by Robert E. Hartley and David Kenney (Southern Illinois University Press, 2006). The story of the disaster is also told in a moving 1966 novel called The Origin of the Brunists by Robert Coover, who grew up in the nearby mining town of Herrin.

Coal Miners Memorial Park (100 E. Main) honors the 119 miners killed in the Orient Mine No 2 disaster that took place on December 21,1951. Because of the date of the explosion, there are many older residents who remember it and many “baby boomer” adults who grew up hearing about it. The Southern Illinoisan website has published the heartbreaking front page of its first issue after the explosion, before the full scale of the tragedy was known. A memorial service is regularly held to commemorate the disaster.

Above we see the first memorial in West Frankfort’s Coal Miners Memorial Park.

Through a funding campaign underway at the Old King Coal Festival in May 2019, by July 4, 2020 West Frankfort raised enough money to inaugurate this $40,000 additional memorial (BELOW) to the victims of the Orient No. 2 disaster of 1951, inscribed with the names of each victim. This memorial is also located in the Coal Miners Memorial Park in downtown West Frankfort, a few feet from the first one. 

West Frankfort’s official website for the 2019 “Old King Coal Festival” says that it “offers 3 days of all of the excitement and family fun of a small town festival while it also celebrates the rich history of the coal mining industry in Southern Illinois.”

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A NOTE. It is interesting to compare the West Frankfort Old King Coal Festival (above) to the annual Miners Gala or “Big Meeting” in Durham City, UK (below), which brings together participants from the county’s pit villages (former coal towns) to commemorate the lost industry, honor the miners, respect the union (Durham Miners’ Association) and politically mobilize the participants in a self-defined socialist agenda of relevant causes (economic equity for the region from the national government, health benefits for the former miners, pensions, social justice, etc.). The Gala began in 1871 and has run almost continuously since then. It currently draws an attendance of about 250,000, mostly from across County Durham. It is the largest trade union celebration in Europe. Magnificent silk banners and brass bands lead the participants from each pit village. A memorial service for the coal miners is always held in Durham Cathedral. Some towns are offering school programs to teach children about the history of coal mining in County Durham.

AN ADDITIONAL NOTE. Professor Silverman, co-director of the Mythic Mississippi Project, was struck by the closeness of West Frankfort’s disaster date (December 21, 1951) to England’s Easington Colliery disaster of May 29, 1951. Easington erected a memorial to its 81 miners and 2 rescue workers who lost their lives that day (see below). No matter how much mine safety had improved in the twentieth century, coal mining remained a very dangerous occupation.