In 1877, convicts replaced striking Welsh miners in the Knoxville Iron and Coal Company Mine, located in the hollow to the south. Prison records show that 131 convict miners died there from 1877 to 1893, while others were caught igniting methane gas entering the mine to cook wild game over open flames. Some believe the 1902 Fraterville Mine explosion was caused by ghosts of convict miners once again igniting methane gas to cook wild game. Fieldstones mark where convicts are buried, and only they know the origin of burn-spots and charred animal bones besides their graves.