The best way to locate information on this website is to use the search box and subject tabs at the top of this page.
The Hanna Story - Welcome to the Hanna History Website
This website was last updated: April 11, 2026
Created by Bob Leathers: August 1, 2010
Created by Bob Leathers: August 1, 2010
-- Over 15 years of sharing --
The purpose of this website is to collect, preserve and share historical information about Old Carbon and Hanna, Wyoming. This website is dedicated to identifying and memorializing the people who worked and died in the Hanna Basin coal mines.
We invite you to explore how the towns came to be and how they touched the lives of many.
We invite you to explore how the towns came to be and how they touched the lives of many.
Contact information: Bob at [email protected]
- Note: This website is the retired then rebranded HannaBasinMuseum.com website. All rights reserved on both websites by Bob Leathers.
Early Hanna (Sally Hafdell and David Eriksson in Sweden)
Bulletin Board
- Comments and documented corrections to this website are welcome. Our goal is to honor the history of Hanna by providing detailed and accurate information. If you spot a possible error needing correction, even a typo, contact Bob at [email protected].
- This website is the retired then rebranded HannaBasinMuseum.com website. All rights reserved on both websites by Bob Leathers.
- The best way to locate information on this website is to use the search box and subject tabs at the top of this page.
- Information, pictures or documents from our readers that are helpful in telling the Hanna story are welcome and encouraged. Contact Bob for details.
2026 - New or Updated on the Website
Notification of new or updated material on the website will appear in this space. Check back for changes.
March 2026
- Updated - Hanna Happenings. New dates.
- Updated Again - Union Pacific Coal Company's No. 1 Underground Mine at Hanna, Wyoming. New image.
February 2026
- Updated - Union Pacific Coal Company's No. 1 Underground Mine at Hanna, Wyoming.
- Updated - Union Pacific Coal Company's Hanna No. 5 Underground Mine at Hanna, Wyoming. New image from Gary Milliken.
- Updated - Rosebud Coal Sales' Rosebud Surface Mine at Hanna, Wyoming. New Images from Jim and Salli Sheridan. 1978.
- Updated - John S. and Mary Ann (Jones) Evans. The Elk Mountain Hotel, Garden Pavilion and Confectionary. New image from Daryl Billings.
January 2026
- Updated - Remembering: Jackson, Mark and Lucille - Hanna Old Timers - Barber, Musician and Business Man. New images.
Hanna Basin Death and Burial Records - Alphabetical
If a person died in a Hanna Basin coal mine, a death record will be listed regardless of where he was buried.
Index
Source Code
(Inquest) Official Inquest Reports, (MIR) Mine Inspector Reports, (MM) Miner Monuments in Hanna,
(Headstone) cemetery headstone, (BL) Bob Leathers, (JB) John Baldwin
(NA) Nancy and Victor Anderson, (LK) Lynne Kuderko, (AR) Andy Ruskanen and (AO) Ayako Ohara,
(UPCCEM) Union Pacific Coal Company Employee's Magazine
(Inquest) Official Inquest Reports, (MIR) Mine Inspector Reports, (MM) Miner Monuments in Hanna,
(Headstone) cemetery headstone, (BL) Bob Leathers, (JB) John Baldwin
(NA) Nancy and Victor Anderson, (LK) Lynne Kuderko, (AR) Andy Ruskanen and (AO) Ayako Ohara,
(UPCCEM) Union Pacific Coal Company Employee's Magazine
The Hanna Basin includes the towns of Hanna and Elmo, which still exist, along with the coal camps of Carbon, Dana and Sampo, which are now ghost towns.
More at: Men Injured in the Hanna Mines
Hanna Monuments
Looking for a deceased veteran or coal miner? Check the names on the Hanna monuments.
- 1940's and 2023: Unknown Miner Monument and Grave Headstones in the Hanna Cemetery
Mining Images from the Past
Union Pacific Coal Company's Hanna No. 1 Mine
Exploded June 30, 1903 and March 28, 1908
Exploded June 30, 1903 and March 28, 1908
UNION PACIFIC COAL COMPANY'S NO. 1 MINE IN HANNA EXPLODED JUNE 30, 1903 KILLING 169 MEN (WHILE FAMILY COLLECTION FROM BOB LEATHERS)
Union Pacific Coal Company's No. 1 Mine in Hanna (University of Wyoming - Heritage Center)
The Union Pacific Coal Company's No. 1 Underground Mine in Hanna was the first mine opened for coal production in Hanna. The mine and town were developed in 1889 and 1890. The mine started outside coal production in 1891 when the Union Pacific Railroad's Carbon Cut Off was completed in 1891. The No. 1 Mine produced 133,283 tons of coal the year it opened. The coal company itself used all the coal produced prior to 1891. The No. 1 mine was finally abandoned in 1909 after the March 28, 1908 explosion. The No. 1 Mine Dump - what was left of it - was dismantled and used to build the Hanna N. 4 Mine. Over the 17 years of coal production, the mine produced 4,291,860 tons of coal, with a yearly average of three hundred workers. The Union Pacific Coal Company’s No. 1 Mine in Hanna was the only mine in Hanna to experience an explosion. The No. 1 mine exploded four different times in its history. At the time of the explosions there were only two Union Pacific Coal Company Mines in existence, the No. 1 and No. 2 Mines. The first explosion occurred on April 28, 1890, killing one miner, Henry Ward. The second explosion occurred June 30, 1903, killing 169 men. The third and fourth explosions came on the same day, March 28, 1908, killing an additional fifty-nine miners. The No. 1 Mine was responsible for 229 miner deaths in the four explosions. Other types of accidents claimed the lives of an additional twenty-one miners for a staggering total of 250 men killed in the No. 1 Mine.
3, 6
New Image From the Past
1889-03-06 Hanna No. 1 dump/tipple before 1885 (1884 Mine Inspector Report)
The Union Pacific Coal Company's No. 1 Underground Mine in Hanna was the first mine opened for coal production in Hanna. The mine and town were developed in 1889 and 1890. The mine started outside coal production in 1891 when the Union Pacific Railroad's Carbon Cut Off was completed in 1891. The No. 1 Mine produced 133,283 tons of coal the year it opened. The coal company itself used all the coal produced prior to 1891. The No. 1 mine was finally abandoned in 1909 after the March 28, 1908 explosion. The No. 1 Mine Dump - what was left of it - was dismantled and used to build the Hanna N. 4 Mine. Over the 17 years of coal production, the mine produced 4,291,860 tons of coal, with a yearly average of three hundred workers. The Union Pacific Coal Company’s No. 1 Mine in Hanna was the only mine in Hanna to experience an explosion. The No. 1 mine exploded four different times in its history. At the time of the explosions there were only two Union Pacific Coal Company Mines in existence, the No. 1 and No. 2 Mines. The first explosion occurred on April 28, 1890, killing one miner, Henry Ward. The second explosion occurred June 30, 1903, killing 169 men. The third and fourth explosions came on the same day, March 28, 1908, killing an additional fifty-nine miners. The No. 1 Mine was responsible for 229 miner deaths in the four explosions. Other types of accidents claimed the lives of an additional twenty-one miners for a staggering total of 250 men killed in the No. 1 Mine.
- More at: Union Pacific Coal Company's No. 1 Underground Mine at Hanna, Wyoming
New Image From the Past
Hanna No. 5 Mine
This mine was opened in 1918 on a seam of coal 1,400 feet stratigraphically below the No. 2 Seam. The coal seam at this point, while large, had a soft shale band 2 to 4 feet thick near the center. This mine development did not proceed far until it was decided to abandon the project due to the serious cleaning problem involved, also due to the fact that large reserves of clean coal were still available in other localities. (UPCCEM, Nov. 1940)
Union Pacific Coal Company's Hanna No. 5 Mine. (Gert Milliken from Gary Milliken)
- More at: Union Pacific Coal Company's Hanna No. 5 Underground Mine at Hanna, Wyoming
New Image From the Past
Rosebud Coal Mine Inside Dragline Bucket. 1978. (Jim and Salli Sheridan)
New Image from the Past
- More at: Remembering: Jackson, Mark and Lucille - Hanna Old Timers - Mark the Barber, Musician and Business Man. New images.
September 2023 - New Monument on Hanna Hill
Page by Bob Leathers
1932 and 2023:
Hanna Mine Explosion Monument on Hanna No. 1 Hill
Dedicated to the -
250 Men Who Lost Their Lives in the Union Pacific Coal Company's Hanna No. 1 Mine
and the
28 Men Not Recovered and are Buried at the Bottom of the Mine
After laying at the bottom of the mine since the June 30, 1903 and March 28, 1908 explosions of the Union Pacific Coal Company's No. 1 Mine in Hanna - the men killed there and not removed from the mine have been identified and as of September 16, 2023 are memorialized.
1932
Hanna 1933: Hugh Renny, T.H. Butler, Thomas Jackson. Hugh Renny Monument (Hanna Basin Museum)
2023
Monument on Hanna Hill. September 16, 2023. (Image by Bob Leathers)
THIS NEW MONUMENT WAS FUNDED BY THE LEATHERS FAMILY
2023
Monument on Hanna Hill. September 16, 2023. (Image by Bob Leathers)
Union Pacific Coal Company's June 30, 1903 and March 28, 1908 Mine No. 1 Explosion Victims Left at the Bottom of the Mine
JUNE 30, 1903 AT ABOUT 10:30 AM THE UNION PACIFIC COAL COMPANY'S NO. I MINE IN HANNA EXPLODED KILLING 169 MINERS. I MAN WAS NOT RECOVERED:
MARCH 28. 1908 A FIRE CREW OF 18 MEN ENTERED THE MINE TO PUT OUT A FIRE. THE MINE EXPLODED AT 3:00 PM KILLLING ALL 18 MINERS. 14 MEN WERE NOT RECOVERED:
MARCH 28, 1908 AFTER THE FIRST EXPLOSION A RESCUE CREW ENTERED THE MINE. A SECOND EXPLOSION OCCURED AT 10:30 PM KILLING AN ADDITIONAL 41 MINERS. 13 MEN WERE NOT RECOVERED:
IN TOTAL. 228 MINERS WERE KILLED IN THE THREE EXPLOSIONS.
28 MEN WERE NOT FOUND AND REMAIN BELOW THIS MONUMENT AT THE BOTTOM OF THE MINE.
- JOHN H. COX, FIRE BOSS
MARCH 28. 1908 A FIRE CREW OF 18 MEN ENTERED THE MINE TO PUT OUT A FIRE. THE MINE EXPLODED AT 3:00 PM KILLLING ALL 18 MINERS. 14 MEN WERE NOT RECOVERED:
- ALEXANDER BRIGGS, SUPERINTENDANT OF ALL HANNA MINES
- JOSEPH BURTON, MINE NO. I FOREMAN
- ALFRED DODDS, MINE NO. 2 FOREMAN
- JAMES KNOX, MINE NO. 3 FOREMAN
- JOHN B. EVANS. GAS WATCHMAN
- WILLIAM H. PASCOE, GAS WATCHMAN
- JOHN RIMMER, GAS WATCHMAN
- HARRY LYON, GAS WATCHMAN
- ROBERT HERRIN, GAS WATCHMAN
- P.A. BOYD, DUMPER
- JOHN IKONEN, ROLLERMAN
- GABRIEL LAHTI, TIMBERMAN
- EMIL SILVAST, TIMBERMAN HELPER
- THOMAS FLINT, MASON
MARCH 28, 1908 AFTER THE FIRST EXPLOSION A RESCUE CREW ENTERED THE MINE. A SECOND EXPLOSION OCCURED AT 10:30 PM KILLING AN ADDITIONAL 41 MINERS. 13 MEN WERE NOT RECOVERED:
- DAVID M. ELIAS, STATE COAL MINE INSPECTOR
- MATT JOKI, MINER
- B. L. FRINK, PUMPER
- PETER TRAVIS, TRACKMAN
- WILLIAM JOHNSON, SHOT FIRER
- GEORGE CASE, BOILERMAN
- ANDREW HOY, MINER
- H. G. BIRCHALL. MINER
- F. E. COLLINS. MINER
- JOHN TATE. SHOT FIRER
- WILLIAM BURNS, LABORER
- T. D. PENN, MINER
- RICHARD WILSON, EX-EMPLOYEE
IN TOTAL. 228 MINERS WERE KILLED IN THE THREE EXPLOSIONS.
28 MEN WERE NOT FOUND AND REMAIN BELOW THIS MONUMENT AT THE BOTTOM OF THE MINE.
2025
September 2025 - New Monument in Hanna Cemetery
Page by Bob Leathers
1903 and 1908: Unknown Miner Monument and Headstones in the Hanna Cemetery
After laying in Unmarked Graves in the Hanna Cemetery for over a century the 127 Hanna Coal Miners killed in the June 30, 1903 and March 28, 1908 explosions of the Union Pacific Coal Company's No. 1 Mine in Hanna have been identified and as of September 28, 2025 are memorialized.
IN MEMORIAL
IN HONOR OF THOSE MINERS WHO LAY AT REST IN UNMARKED GRAVES FROM THE
1903 AND 1908 MINE EXPLOSIONS
IN HONOR OF THOSE MINERS WHO LAY AT REST IN UNMARKED GRAVES FROM THE
1903 AND 1908 MINE EXPLOSIONS
Unknow Miner Monument. Hanna Cemetery. September 28, 2025.. (Image by Bob Leathers)
JUNE 30, 1903:
THE WORST COAL MINE CATASTROPHE IN THE HISTORY OF WYOMING OCCURRED WHEN UNION PACIFIC COAL COMPANY'S NO. 1 EXPLODED KILLING 169 MEN. LEAVING APPROXIMATELY 150 WIDOWS AND 600 CHILDREN FATHERLESS. THESE ARE 110 OF THE MEN THAT PERISHED IN THAT EXPLOSION AND BURIED IN UNMARKED GRAVES IN THE HANNA CEMETERY.
THE WORST COAL MINE CATASTROPHE IN THE HISTORY OF WYOMING OCCURRED WHEN UNION PACIFIC COAL COMPANY'S NO. 1 EXPLODED KILLING 169 MEN. LEAVING APPROXIMATELY 150 WIDOWS AND 600 CHILDREN FATHERLESS. THESE ARE 110 OF THE MEN THAT PERISHED IN THAT EXPLOSION AND BURIED IN UNMARKED GRAVES IN THE HANNA CEMETERY.
MARCH 28, 1908:
THE UNION PACIFIC COAL COMPANY'S NO.1 MINE EXPLODED TWICE IN THE SAME DAY KILLING 59 MEN AND LEAVING 31 WIDOWS AND 103 FATHERLESS CHILDREN.
THESE ARE THE 17 MEN THAT PERISHED IN THOSE EXPLOSIONS AND BURIED IN UNMARKED GRAVES IN THE HANNA CEMETERY:
THE UNION PACIFIC COAL COMPANY'S NO.1 MINE EXPLODED TWICE IN THE SAME DAY KILLING 59 MEN AND LEAVING 31 WIDOWS AND 103 FATHERLESS CHILDREN.
THESE ARE THE 17 MEN THAT PERISHED IN THOSE EXPLOSIONS AND BURIED IN UNMARKED GRAVES IN THE HANNA CEMETERY:
Unknow Miner Monument. Hanna Cemetery. September 28, 2025.. (Image by Bob Leathers)
THIS MEMORIAL IS MADE POSSIBLE BY THE GENEROUS FUNDING FROM:
UNION PACIFIC RAILROAD COMMUNITY TIES GIVING PROGRM
THE LEATHERS FAMILY
TOWN OF HANNA
HANNA BASIN HISTORICAL SOCIETY
AND THE UNSELFISH, CARING HELP FROM COMMUNITY VOLUNTEERS
UNION PACIFIC RAILROAD COMMUNITY TIES GIVING PROGRM
THE LEATHERS FAMILY
TOWN OF HANNA
HANNA BASIN HISTORICAL SOCIETY
AND THE UNSELFISH, CARING HELP FROM COMMUNITY VOLUNTEERS
Unknow Miner Monuments. Hanna Cemetery. September 28, 2025.. (Image by Bob Leathers)
UNKNOWN MINER. (IMAGE BY BOB LEATHERS)
The Rest of the Story
The Union Pacific Coal Company's No. 1 underground mine in Hanna was the first mine opened for coal production in Hanna. The mine and town were developed in 1889 and 1890. The No. 1 mine proved to be the deadliest. The No. 1 mine was the only mine in Hanna to experience an explosion. It exploded four different times in its history.
The first explosion occurred on April 28, 1890, killing one miner, Henry Ward. Henry was found, removed from the mine and buried in Rawlins Wyoming. The cemetery records indicated there was not a cemetery in Hanna at the time of his death.
The second explosion occurred June 30, 1903, killing 169 men.
- 1 man was not recovered and is still at the bottom of the mine.
- 38 men were found, removed from the mine, prepared for burial, then buried in marked graves.
- 20 men were found, removed from the mine, prepared for burial, then buried in other towns than Hanna.
- 110 men were found, removed from the mine, prepared for burial, then buried in unmarked graves in the Hanna cemetery.
The third and fourth explosions came on the same day, March 28, 1908, killing an additional 59 miners.
- 27 men were not recovered and are still at the bottom of the mine.
- 10 men were found, removed from the mine, prepared for burial, then buried in marked graves.
- 5 men were found, removed from the mine, prepared for burial, then buried in other towns than Hanna.
- 17 men were found, removed from the mine, prepared for burial, then buried in unmarked graves in the Hanna cemetery.
The No. 1 Mine was responsible for 229 miner deaths in the four explosions - 127 of the miners were buried in unmarked graves. Other types of accidents in the No. 1 mine claimed the lives of an additional 21 miners for a staggering total of 250 men killed in the No. 1 mine.
The No. 1 mine was abandoned in 1909. The No. 1 Mine Dump - what was left of it - was dismantled and used to build the Hanna N. 4 Mine. Over the 17 years of coal production, the mine produced 4,291,860 tons of coal, with a yearly average of three hundred workers.
More at:
Image from the Past - Hanna
A DRAWING OF THE HANNA COAL CAMP with Elk Mountain at the top of the picture. The No. 1 mine and No. 1 town on the left and the No. 2 mine on the right and No. 2 town in the center bottom . (SALLY HAFDELL AND DAVID ERIKSSON IN SWEDEN)
Hanna is located in the Hanna Basin in Carbon County, Wyoming. The Hanna Basin includes the Wyoming towns of Hanna and Elmo, which still exist, and the coal camps of Carbon, Sampo and Dana, which are now ghost towns - along with active cemeteries at Hanna and Carbon. The coal camp of Carbon came first in 1868. When the coal ran out at Carbon, the citizens moved, over time, to the new coal fields developed at Hanna in 1889. The town of Carbon is now referred to as Old Carbon by the local citizens.
The Hanna Basin coal mines produced over 220 million tons of coal. The coal however, came at a tremendous human cost. A staggering 372 coal miners were killed in the Hanna Basin mines while in the process of mining the coal.
The Hanna Basin mines produced coal for 144 years. Coal production started at Carbon in 1868 and ended in Carbon in 1902, which amounted to 35 years of continuous production. Hanna started coal production in 1890 and ended in 2012, for 122 continuous years of production. The two coal camps overlapped production for 13 years, from 1890 to 1902.
This website is dedicated to identifying and memorializing the men who worked and died in the Hanna Basin coal mines. In the later years a small number of women worked in and around the mines, but none perished in them.
The Hanna Basin coal mines produced over 220 million tons of coal. The coal however, came at a tremendous human cost. A staggering 372 coal miners were killed in the Hanna Basin mines while in the process of mining the coal.
The Hanna Basin mines produced coal for 144 years. Coal production started at Carbon in 1868 and ended in Carbon in 1902, which amounted to 35 years of continuous production. Hanna started coal production in 1890 and ended in 2012, for 122 continuous years of production. The two coal camps overlapped production for 13 years, from 1890 to 1902.
This website is dedicated to identifying and memorializing the men who worked and died in the Hanna Basin coal mines. In the later years a small number of women worked in and around the mines, but none perished in them.
- More at: Hanna and Elmo
Image from the Past - Schools
Hanna K-12 Main School Building built in 1921 (While Family Collection from Bob Leathers)
- More at: Schools
Union Pacific Coal Company Employee Magazines
The Union Pacific Coal Company Employes' Magazines are full of coal company news - including a section on Hanna Monthly News - along with news from other towns in the Union Pacific Coal Company network of towns and mines. Many of the coal miner deaths and injuries are reported in the magazines. The magazines are available online at the link below. They are a great source of information about what was going on with Hanna families at the time when the Union Pacific Coal Company was operating in Hanna, Wyoming.
In January, 1924, the Employes' Magazine of The Union Pacific Coal Company and its subsidiary, the Washington Union Coal Company, was launched as a medium of good will and understanding, with the further hope that as the years passed, much of the life and color of the pioneer days might be put into print and thus saved. With this end in mind stories and sketches, together with many old photographs, were assembled and re-produced, and it is this material, together with certain widely scattered and fragmentary records, as well as many interviews with the men and women who lived and worked in and about the mines in the early days, that served as the foundation of this little history. (History of the Union Pacific Mines. 1868-1940)
The Employes' Magazine is a monthly publication devoted to the interests of the employees of the Union Pacific Coal Company and Washington Union Coal Company and their families. It will contain items of current news, personal notes about employees and their families, together with articles dealing with the coal mining industry, the personal safety of the men engaged in mining a first consideration. (Atlanta E. Hecker, Editor)
The Hanna Miner - A Slideshow
Slideshow by Bob Leathers
Music by The O'Neill Brothers Group - Instrumental Country Guitar: Coal Miner's Daughter
Music by The O'Neill Brothers Group - Instrumental Country Guitar: Coal Miner's Daughter
Available only at HannaHistory.com
Website Guidelines
- All rights are reserved on this website. Individuals wishing to use documents or images from this website must first receive written permission - contact Bob at [email protected]
- Our goal is to honor the history of Hanna by providing detailed and accurate information.
- We welcome comments and documented corrections to the content on this website.
- We also welcome any pictures, documents or information from our readers that might be helpful in our telling the Hanna story.
- Sources all over the world send information, documents and images to this website for its use. If you think you are the copyright owner and believe this website has not properly attributed your work to you or has used it without permission, please contact us. We welcome the reporting of any possible copyright infringements. Every effort will be made to correct all copyright conflicts that may arise.