Hocking, IA Mine Explosion, Jan 1908

The town of Hocking was destroyed and five men hurt when 500 pounds of dynamite exploded during a fire. The property loss is $60,000. The shock of the explosion was felt for five miles around, and at Albia, two miles distant, windows were broken. The fire started from an unknown cause in the store of the Hocking Supply Company, a frame building containing a stock of worth $40,000. On a side track near by was a string of box cars, one of them containing 500 pounds of dynamite. The flames jumped to the cars and when the dynamite was reached it exploded with a deafening roar. Miners fought the flames even when they knew the dynamite was in the car next to the fire and that it was likely to explode at any time.

The Iowa Recorder, Greene, IA, 5 Feb 1908

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OSKALOOSA, Iowa, Jan 25. --A car of dynamite exploded at the Hocking mines this morning, wrecking the company store and several adjoining buildings. The loss is $100,000. No one was hurt, but the shock was felt for a radius of ten miles.

The Sandusky Star Journal, Sandusky, OH, 25 Jan 1908
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