Hazel Kirk is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...

and

coal town A coal town, also known as a coal camp or patch, is a type of company town or mining community established by the employer, a mining company, which imports workers to the site to work the mineral find. The company develops it and provides residen ...

located in Washington County, in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

. Hazel Kirk was part of Carroll Township and was the location of four

bituminous coal Bituminous coal, or black coal, is a type of coal containing a tar-like substance called bitumen or asphalt. Its coloration can be black or sometimes dark brown; often there are well-defined bands of bright and dull material within the seams. It ...

mines, known as "Hazel Kirk Mine," "Hazel Kirk No. 1," "Hazel Kirk No. 2," and "Hazel Kirk No. 3."Raymond A. Washlaski (ed.)
"Washington County Pennsylvania Coal Mines: Index H to the Bituminous Coal Mines of Washington County, Pennsylvania, USA,"
Virtual Museum of Coal Mining in Western Pennsylvania, www.patheoldminer.rootsweb.ancestry.com/ Last updated Sept. 20, 2010.

1905 Hazel Kirk No. 2 disaster

Hazel Kirk Mine No. 2, owned by the Pittsburg and Westmoreland Coal Company,"The Hazel Kirk Colliery Accident,"
''Engineering and Mining Journal,'' vol. 80 (Nov. 4, 1905), pg. 834. was the site of two fatal explosions in October 1905. On October 10, 1905 the first underground explosion, related to a dynamite blast, killed two miners, the brothers John and Mike Kusko.
''The Reporter'' (Washington, PA), October 30, 1905. A fire resulted; temporary bulkheads were erected to isolate the flames and the burning section of the mine was flooded with water. After nearly three weeks the fire was believed to have burned itself out. The 45-year-old superintendent of Hazel Kirk No. 2, John Hornickel and five other managers of the facility reentered the mine near midnight on the night of October 28/29 to investigate the situation. All work was stopped and workers were removed from the mines during the investigation. A temporary partition was removed by the investigators during the course of their inspection, behind which explosive gas had been trapped. An explosion resulted, killing five and seriously burning the sixth mine official.

References

{{authority control Unincorporated communities in Washington County, Pennsylvania Coal towns in Pennsylvania Unincorporated communities in Pennsylvania