The Cross Mountain Mine opened in 1888 about one mile up Slatestone Road to the west. By 1911, it had two power plants that generated electricity and provided incandescent light for the main entries. Coal was cut by electric chain machines and hauled out of the mine by electric motor cars. The mine exploded on December 9, 1911. Although 84 miners died, engineers and apparatus crews from the U.S. Bureau of Mines rescued five men. As one of the first successful mine rescues in the United States, lessons learned at Cross Mountain led to safer working conditions for miners today.