News reports and photos from Black Diamond and the towns of Bayne, Cumberland, Danville, Durham, Elkcoal, Franklin, Kangley, Krain, Kummer, Lawson, Navy, Palmer, Ravensdale, and Selleck
Originally published in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, April 22, 1904
Boulder drops on Cuna Puhakka in coal mine and crushes him
Cuna Puhakka, a Finnish miner, was killed by a falling boulder in the Franklin coal mine Wednesday afternoon. Coroner Hoye was at Black Diamond at the time and went from there to investigate the case.
Puhakka and two other miners had been working in a breast of the mine and the fire boss had set off two shots. The shots tore away a couple of upright posts in the drift and while repairing these, the boulder dropped from the ceiling. Puhakka was crushed and instantly killed and the other two miners narrowly escaped injury.
Coroner Hoye says that the miner died as a result of his own carelessness, as he should have sounded the walls before putting in the new posts.
Originally published in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, April 17, 1904
Loading capacity of 1,000 tons an hour—to be completed in August
New coal bunkers north of Morans’
The new coal bunkers of the Pacific Coast Company, on the waterfront, at the foot of Dearborn Street and Railroad Avenue, shown in the accompanying photographic views, will have ship-loading capacity of 1,000 tons an hour. The storage capacity of the bunkers is 7,000 tons. But with the company’s splendid equipment it is possible to ship in the coal from its King County mines, elevate the product into the bunkers, and carry it on by its electric conveyors down into the vessels loading, at the astonishing rate of 1,000 tons every sixty minutes.
Originally published in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, March 17, 1914
Three hundred colliery workers attend funeral of James Anderson
Three hundred miners and other employees of the Pacific Coast Company came to the city from Franklin, Black Diamond, and Newcastle yesterday to attend the funeral of their late chief, James Anderson, manager of the coal company’s properties. The men marched from the residence, 738 Thirty-fifth Avenue, to the Church of the Epiphany, in Denny-Blaine Park.
Originally published in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, February 18, 1914
Imprisoned forty hours, crews hope to reach them tonight
Caught by cave-in: Believed to have occurred fifty feet from point where men were working—hope expressed they survive until rescuers arrive
Two coal miners, Mike Debenetsky and Andrew Chernick, are entombed in their working rooms in the Cannon mine at Franklin, near Black Diamond, by a surface cave-in and for the past forty hours rescuers directed by the Pacific Coast Coal Company officials and state coal mine inspectors have been engaged in a desperate effort to reach the buried workers in the hope that they still survive.
Originally published in The Seattle Sunday Times, February 7, 1904
The shipping business of the Pacific Coast has grown from a position of ten years ago, where it was scarcely recognized in the statistical and commercial reports, to a place today that commands the attention and admiration of the entire business world.
It has been said that “he who controls the trade of the Pacific will control the world,” and a statement nearer to the truth has never been uttered. So far as coast control is concerned, it can be truthfully said, the shipping business, both freight and passenger, from Mexico to Alaska, is today practically controlled by the Pacific Coast Company, the largest corporation operating freight and passenger vessels on the Coast.
Originally published in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Janaury 2, 1949
Civic spirit of Seattle fed on early troubles with lines
First train—This photo from the files of the Seattle Historical Society shows the first train on the Seattle and Walla Walla R.R. (later the Columbia and Puget Sound Railroad) making an early trip. The road was built by the enterprise of Seattle citizens and the first locomotive, considered a wonder, was named the A.A. Denny. First passenger cars were old wood flat cars with rough board seats. Baseball “specials” ran to Georgetown.
Seattle’s early history and later growth is so inextricably bound up with the promotion and construction of railroads that it is rather astonishing no one has yet written and published even a passably complete account of Western Washington railroad development.
Seattle was made by railroads as surely as Chicago, St. Louis, and Kansas City were made great by railroads.
Originally published in The Seattle Times, September 9, 1973
This is one of a series of Sunday articles of interest to bicycle enthusiasts in the Seattle area. The series provides information and maps on rides the cyclist may enjoy easily and includes tips on bicycling safety, equipment, and maintenance.
Black Diamond ride data Location: South King County. Black Diamond starting point, south of Renton on Highway 169. Terrain: Unusually level riding with little traffic. A few smooth, short hills and several small villages. Time and length: About 18 miles as shown. Allow 1½ hours or more. Three hours gives time for a swim and picnic enroute. A longer tour may be linked to this ride by cycling south from the Bellevue area through Coalfield. Features: The Green River with spectacular gorge area. Pleasant views of mountains and trees. Back roads through an unspoiled region of King County.
By Chuck Seward
Everyone can enjoy a fine bicycle ride covering an 18-mile loop along almost exclusively level back roads far from city traffic.
The tour begins at Black Diamond and passes through the villages of Cumberland, Palmer, Kanaskat, Georgetown, and Ravensdale.
Black Diamond itself is not large, but Seattle riders will have no trouble finding it along the Maple Valley Highway about 18 miles southeast of Renton. The Black Diamond Elementary School sits on the main road in the center of town and provides a good starting point, with space to leave cars and an opportunity for a cup of coffee from the little 24-hour restaurant across the street.
The Black Diamond Bakery probably is the town’s most famous landmark although coal, and not overdone bread, gave the town its name.
Originally published in The Seattle Sunday Times, September 8, 1963
By Alfred L. Lomax
The Dakota, a sidewheeler on the Seattle-San Francisco run, was taking on coal at Talbot Dock. — Photos courtesy of Museum of History and Industry.
In the 1860s and 1870s, when the pungent aroma of freshly cut lumber permeated the damp Puget Sound atmosphere, the sulfurous smell of coaldust mingled with the more fragrant sawdust at Seattle, Tacoma, and Sehome (Bellingham).
While whirring saws sliced the giant firs into exportable lumber, the thud of picks and the harsh scrape of shovels could be heard in the Cascade foothills preparing the coal for tidewater bunkers.
Originally published in the Auburn Globe-News, June 13, 1969
This is the concluding part of a series on coal mining in the Black Diamond-Ravensdale section of King County.Today’s story relates recollections of Fred Roberts who has lived all of his 90-plus years in and around Black Diamond. His memories of coal mining are bright and [illegible] if not altogether nostalgic.In the wake of earlier-day mining operations are situations that cause concern for present day mine owners. A few of their problems are touched upon in an accompanying story.
Three men who have lived much of their lives in a small coal-mining community of Black Diamond are, left to right, Val Sternis, Carl Steiert, who operates Black Diamond’s gas station, and Fred Roberts, 91-year-old former coal miner. Staff photo
By Elaine Fleming
The best thing that ever happened to Fred Roberts was when Pacific Coal & Oil Co. laid him off his job 48 years ago.
“If it wasn’t for that I wouldn’t be the man I am today,” boasts the stalwart, 91-year-old former coal miner who has spent all but nine years of his life in and around Black Diamond.
Roberts is the son of a Pennsylvania coal miner who came to live in Back Diamond with his wife and four sons in 1887—two years before Washington reached statehood. He and his wife eventually reared seven sons and two daughters in the [illegible] mining community that consisted of a single store. This was a combination general store and post office and was located where King’s Tavern is now.
Originally published in the Enumclaw Courier, June 10, 1904
Who said we couldn’t play ball? The locals met and defeated the coal miners from Franklin on last Sunday, by a score of 15 to 8. As usual the home boys started to go up in the air in the 7th and before they once more touched the ground Franklin scored 5, after that it was easy picking for the locals.
Black Diamond History 