On November 28, 1908, 154 miners died in the Marianna Mine explosion, the worst disaster in Washington County and among the most severe in the history of US mining. The incident, along with several others at the time, catalyzed public advocacy for mine safety and led to the establishment of the US Bureau of Mines in 1910. Bureau research on safer blasting material and on preventing mine gas and dust explosions reduced the occurrence of mine disasters.
