The Farmington Mine disaster was an explosion that happened at approximately 5:30 a.m. on November 20, 1968, at the Consol No. 9 coal mine north of Farmington and Mannington, West Virginia, United States. The explosion was large enough to be felt in Fairmont, almost away. At the time, 99 miners were inside. Over the course of the next few hours, 21 miners were able to escape the mine, but 78 were still trapped. All who were unable to escape perished; the bodies of 19 of the dead were never recovered. The cause of the explosion was never determined, but the accident served as the catalyst for several new laws that were passed to protect miners. The Farmington No. 9 Mine Memorial, bearing the names of the men who died, is located at the entrance of Flat Run Road in Mannington, WV. Consol No. 9 The Consol No. 9 mine was developed in the Pittsburgh coal seam, with its main entrances at James Fork, the confluence of Little Dunkard Mill Run and Dunkard Mill Run, north of Farmington, West Virginia (). The Pittsburgh seam is over below the valley bottoms in this region, and is fairly uniform, generally about thick. This mine was originally opened in 1909 as the Jamison No. 9 Mine, operated by the Jamison Coal and Coke Company. The original entrance shafts were deep. Even in 1909, it was noted that "gasses are liberating" from the coal in the mine, so that locked safety lamps were used at all times. Initially, compressed air power was used to undercut the coal, which was then blasted before horse power was used to haul the coal to the shaft, but within a year, compressed air locomotives were obtained for the mine railway. Between 1911 and 1929, Jamison No. 9 produced over per year, except in 1922, when production was just under . Production fell to just over in early 1930, after which the mine was closed for three years. Production resumed in 1934, climbing to over per year in 1956. On November 14, 1954, an explosion ripped through the mine, killing 16 miners and leading to a temporary shutdown. In addition to 16 deaths, the explosion destroyed the headframe of one mine shaft. The explosion occurred during pillar removal conducted as part of retreat mining. Under Consolidation Coal Company ownership, coal production in 1977 was 98772 tons. This coal was produced