African Americans in the Hanna Basin History

African Americans in the Hanna

Page by Bob Leathers

African American workers helped develop and open the Union Pacific Coal Company's No. 1 and No. 2 Mines at Hanna (State of Wyoming Archives)

1800's

1868 June 30: The Union Pacific Railroad arrived at Carbon, Wyoming. Coal was now needed in great quantities to run the steam engines up and down the track. The great coal rush was on.

1868: Over the lifetime of the Hanna Basin Coal mines, 372 men were killed while mining the coal - 36 of the 372 were African American miners. All the men were killed in the Union Pacific Coal Company's No. 1 mine in Hanna - 2 in individual mine accidents, 25 in the June 30, 1903 explosion and 9 in the March 28, 1908 explosions. Sadly, of the 36 Black miners killed in the Hanna mines, there exists only 5 headstones in the Hanna cemetery to mark their graves and no headstones in the Carbon cemetery.

1868: Over the years, literally thousands of men were injured in the Hanna Basin Mines while mining the coal. Many were African American miners.

1888: The Hanna town site at Chimney Springs was surveyed and the area explored for coal mine locations. Mark Hanna, at the request of the Union Pacific Railroad, toured the Wyoming coal mines. On his trip he visited the newly discovered coal fields at Chimney Springs for possible expansion. He recommended the coal field be developed. When the decision to move the coal operation from Carbon to Hanna was made, the coal site at Chimney Springs was named Hanna after Mark Hanna.

1889: 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.

1889: The Union Pacific Coal Company's No. 2 Underground Mine in Hanna, like the No. 1 mine, was developed in 1889 and 1890.

1890 February: About two hundred Black men and women from Ohio arrived in the coal mining town of Dana, Wyoming in the middle of winter. They were the first group of Black miners recruited to Wyoming by the Union Pacific Coal Company. The Black miners were brought in as strikebreakers. (Rediscovering Dana: The Forgotten Black Coal Miners of Southern Wyoming T.H.g by Brigida R. Blasi)

1890: The Union Pacific Coal Company was organized as a subsidiary of the Union Pacific Railroad to oversee Wyoming coal mining.

1890: The first Hanna School was built.

1891 May: The Union Pacific Coal Company mine at Dana closed and the Black miners working there were reassigned to Rock Springs and Hanna. (Rediscovering Dana: The Forgotten Black Coal Miners of Southern Wyoming by Brigida R. Blasi)

1898: The U.S. Supreme Court in Williams v. Mississippi upheld the provisions of the Mississippi Constitution of 1890 which effectively disfranchised virtually all the black voters in the state. (BlackPast.org)

1898 December 24: The first African American coal miner killed in the Hanna mines was James Lewis. James, Colored, age 45, nativity United States, occupation miner, killed in the No. 1 mine at Hanna. He was married with a wife and two children. He had been in the employ of the Company [Union Pacific Coal Company] two months at the time of his death. Lewis was loading a car with coal at the face of his room when a small piece of coal, weighting about ten pounds fell from the rib, close to the roof. The coal struck him on the head and fractured his skull, causing his death the same day. At an inquest held on the 26th day of December 1898, the coroner's jury rendered a verdict that his death was due to an unavoidable accident and that neither the company or its employees were to blame for Lewis's death. (1899 MIR) James Lewis was killed in the Union Pacific Coal Company's No. 1 mine in Hanna. It is not know where he was buried. (BL)

1900's

1900: The price paid to Hanna miners for mining coal was 65 cents a ton.

1900: Wyoming's population was 92,531 people; Carbon County was home to 9,589 of them.

1900: Hanna’s Black community comprised about 6 percent of the population, according to the federal census in 1900. (Rediscovering Dana: The Forgotten Black Coal Miners of Southern Wyoming by Brigida R. Blasi)

1900 January 15: The second African American killed in the Hanna coal mines was George Mills. George was Colored, age 28, occupation driver, married, killed in Hanna mine No. 1 on the 15th day of January, 1900. He had been in the employ of the company about 15 months. He was killed while riding his car facing backwards instead of forwards, by allowing his car to run into a pile of rock, which had fallen. As he collided with the fallen rock, some more fell, killing him instantly. (MIR,1900)

,1892: The first intercollegiate football game between African American colleges took place when Biddle University (now Johnson C. Smith University) and Livingston College played each other. (BlackPast.org)

1892: A record 230 people were lynched in the United States, 161 were black and 69 were white. In the period between 1882 and 1951, The Tuskegee Institute compiled nationwide lynching statistics. In that 69 year period, 4,730 people were lynched including 3,437 blacks. (BlackPast.org)

1903 June 30: The awareness of the African American community in Hanna, Wyoming appeared with the June 30, 1903 Explosion of the Union Pacific Coal Company's No. 1 Mine in Hanna. Twenty-Five African American Coal Miners were killed in the explosion.

Union Pacific Coal Company No 1 Mine in Hanna. (Image from Sally Hafdell and David Eriksson in Sweden)

Hanna Mine Explosion Recovery. (While Family from Bob Leathers)

The 25 African American men killed in the June 30, 1903 explosion of the Union Pacific Coal Company's No. 1 Mine in Hanna were:

Marked Graves

Eight African American Men buried in Plot 279 with One Headstone

Richard Bain was found at entry 22, back at the face. Richard was an African American miner, age 22. He was buried in Plot 279 in the Hanna cemetery.

Ed Brown was found at entry 16 opposite room 25. He was an African American miner, age 18. His remains were buried in plot 279 in the Hanna cemetery.

E. Newsome [A. E. Cooper] [A. Muzum], an African American miner, age 18, was found on the slope at the 8th crosscut from the basin. He was buried in Plot 279 in the Hanna cemetery.

Sam Hudspeth [Samuel Hudspetts], an African American miner, age 40, killed in the Union Pacific Coal Company's No. 1 Mine in Hanna was found at entry 16, room 1. He was buried in Plot 279 in the Hanna cemetery.

Ben Miller an African American miner, age 23, was found on the slope at 8th crosscut from the basin. He was buried in Plot 279 in the Hanna cemetery.

Henry Sanders [Henry Saunders], an African American miner, age 35, was found at entry 22 room 13. He was buried in Plot 279 in the Hanna cemetery.

James Thomas an African American miner, age 35, was found at entry 22 cross cut at the face. He was buried in Plot 279 in the Hanna cemetery.

Fred Wilkins [Fred Willkins] an African American miner, age 34, was found at entry 18 room 23. He was buried in Plot 279 in the Hanna cemetery.

Plot 291

George Hooper [George Hoper], an African American miner, age 23, was found at entry 18 room 23. He was buried in Plot 291 in the Hanna cemetery.

Plot 301

Archie McDonald [Archie McDanald] [A. McDonald], an African American miner, age 19, was found at entry 22 room 13. He was buried in Plot 301 in the Hanna cemetery.

Jesse McDonald, an African American miner, age 22, was found at entry 22 room 13. He was buried in Plot 301 in the Hanna cemetery.

Plot 302

Ed Love [Edward Love], an African American miner, age 36, was found at entry 22 room 29. He was buried in Plot 302 in the Hanna cemetery.

Unmarked Graves

Desha Austin was found at entry 22 room 28. Desha was an African American miner. He was buried in an unmarked grave in the Hanna cemetery.

William Austin was found at entry 22 room 29. William was an African American miner. He was buried in an unmarked grave in the Hanna cemetery.

James Denny [James Patton], an African American miner, age unknown, was found on the slope at 8th crosscut from the basin. He was buried in an unmarked grave in the Hanna cemetery.

Robert Evans [Robert Branch] was found on the slope at 8th crosscut from the basin. Robert was an African American miner, age unknown. He was buried in an unmarked grave in the Hanna cemetery.

William Hall was found on the slope at the 8th crosscut from the basin. William was an African American miner, age unknown. He was buried in an unmarked grave in the Hanna cemetery.

Mark Miller, an African American miner, age unknown, was found at entry 18. He was buried in the Hanna cemetery in an unmarked grave.

Robert Nunley, an African American miner, age unknown, was found at entry 22 room 14. He was buried in an unmarked grave in the Hanna cemetery.

W. L. Smith, an African American miner, age unknown, was found at entry 22 room 16. He was buried in the Hanna cemetery in an unmarked grave.

Thomas Weathers [Thomas Westhers] [T. Wethers], an African American miner, age unknown, was found at entry 18. He was buried in an unmarked grave in the Hanna cemetery.

W. O. Williams, an African American miner, age unknown, found at entry 22 room 28. He was buried in an unmarked grave in the Hanna cemetery.

William Williams [William Williams] [William William], an African American miner, age unknown, was found at entry 18. He was buried in an unmarked grave in the Hanna cemetery.

Disinterred

Robert Tinsley Sr. [Robert Tinslay], an African American miner, age unknown, was found at room 16. He was buried in Hanna cemetery then later disinterred and reburied in Carrollton, Missouri.

Clay Tinnley [Clay Tinslay] [Clay Tinsley], an African American miner, age unknown, was found at entry 20 room 16. He was buried in Hanna cemetery then later disinterred and reburied in Carrollton, Missouri.

African American Miner at the Hanna No. 1 Mine (While Family from Bob Leathers)

1903 August 8: The Coroner's Inquest was published for the Union Pacific Coal Company's June 30, 1903 explosion of Hanna Mine No. 1, which killed 169 men. The report consisted of questions and answers from the miners that survived the explosion.

1907: The Union Pacific Coal Company formally recognized the United Mine Workers of America as the union representing the Hanna miners. The Hanna local 2335 was established. All of the union members were employees of the Union Pacific Coal Company. William “Bill” Pascoe was the first president.

1908 March 28: The Union Pacific Coal Company's No. 1 Mine in Hanna exploded again, twice in the same day, killing 59 men - 9 of the men killed were African Americans.

HANNA NO. 1 MINE DUMP (WHILE FAMILY FROM BOB LEATHERS

CAVED MOUTH OF THE WEST SLOPE AFTER BEING PARTIALLY CLEANED UP (MINES AND MINERALS, 1908)

The nine African American men killed in the March 28, 1908 explosion of the Union Pacific Coal Company No. 1 Mine in Hanna were:

Not Removed from the Mine

P. A. Boyd, African American, worked as a Dumper in the No. 1 mine. On Saturday, March 28th, while the mine was idle, a fire crew consisting of 18 men including P. A. Boyd entered the Number 1 mine to put out a fire burning in entry number 10. The mine exploded about three in the afternoon killing all the men in the fire crew. A rescue crew was organized and entered the mine to search for survivors. A second explosion occurred the same day about ten thirty in the evening killing an additional 41 men. His body was not removed from the mine. (BL)

William Johnson, African American, worked as a Shot Firer in the No. 2 mine. On Saturday, March 28, 1908 while the mine was idle, a fire crew consisting of 18 men entered the Number 1 mine to put out a fire burning in entry number 10. The mine exploded about three in the afternoon killing all the men in the fire crew. A rescue crew was organized and entered the mine to search for survivors. A second explosion occurred the same day about ten thirty in the evening. William and 41 other members of the rescue crew were killed in the second explosion. His body was not recovered from the mine. (BL)

T. D. Penn, African American, worked as a Miner in the No. 1 mine. On Saturday, March 28, 1908 while the mine was idle, a fire crew consisting of 18 men entered the Number 1 mine to put out a fire burning in entry number 10. The mine exploded about three in the afternoon killing all the men in the fire crew. A rescue crew which included T. D. was organized and entered the mine to search for survivors. A second explosion occurred the same day about ten thirty in the evening. T. D. and 41 other members of the rescue crew were killed in the second explosion. His body was not recovered from the mine. (BL)

Marked Graves

Plot 296

Gus Raimey, African American, worked as a Rope Runner in the No. 1 mine. He was part of the initial Fire Crew. He was killed in the first explosion. His body was in the process of being removed from the mine by the Rescue Crew when the second explosion occurred. On Thursday July 16, 1908 day 111 after the explosion Gus was found, identified and removed from the mine. He was buried in Plot 296 in the Hanna cemetery. (BL)

Albert Riley, African American, worked as a Rope Runner in the No. 1 mine. On Saturday, March 28th while the mine was idle, a fire crew consisting of 18 men entered the Number 1 mine to put out a fire burning in entry number 10. The mine exploded about three in the afternoon killing all the men in the fire crew. A rescue crew was organized and entered the mine to search for survivors. A second explosion occurred the same day about ten thirty in the evening. Albert and 41 other members of the rescue crew were killed in the second explosion. His body was found on Thursday July 16, 1908 on day 111 after the explosion, identified and removed from the mine. He was buried in Plot 296 in the Hanna cemetery. (BL)

Unmarked Graves

A. C. Corley, African American, worked as a Miner in the No. 1 mine. On Saturday, March 28th, while the mine was idle, a fire crew consisting of 18 men entered the Number 1 mine to put out a fire burning in entry number 10. The mine exploded about three in the afternoon killing all the men in the fire crew. A rescue crew was organized and entered the mine to search for survivors. A second explosion occurred the same day about ten thirty in the evening. A. C. Corley and 41 other members of the rescue crew were killed in the second explosion. His body was found on Wednesday August 12, 1908, day 138 after the explosion, identified and removed from the mine. He was buried in an unmarked grave in the Hanna cemetery. (BL)

Charles Harris, African American, worked as a Pumper in the No. 1 mine. On Saturday, March 28th, while the mine was idle, a fire crew consisting of 18 men entered the Number 1 mine to put out a fire burning in entry number 10. The mine exploded about three in the afternoon killing all the men in the fire crew. A rescue crew was organized and entered the mine to search for survivors. A second explosion occurred the same day about ten thirty in the evening. Charles and 41 other members of the rescue crew were killed in the second explosion. His body was found on Thursday July 16, 1908. on day 111 after the explosion, identified and removed from the mine. He was buried in an unmarked grave in the Hanna cemetery. (BL)

Aaron Madden, African American, worked as a Shot Firer in the No. 2 mine. On Saturday, March 28th, while the mine was idle, a fire crew consisting of 18 men entered the Number 1 mine to put out a fire burning in entry number 10. The mine exploded about three in the afternoon killing all the men in the fire crew. A rescue crew was organized and entered the mine to search for survivors. A second explosion occurred the same day about ten thirty in the evening. Aaron and 41 other members of the rescue crew were killed in the second explosion. His body was found on Wednesday August 12, 1908, on day 138 after the explosion, identified and removed from the mine. He was buried in an unmarked grave in the Hanna cemetery. (BL)

James Tyner, African American, worked as a Miner in the No. 1 mine. On Saturday, March 28th, while the mine was idle, a fire crew consisting of 18 men entered the Number 1 mine to put out a fire burning in entry number 10. The mine exploded about three in the afternoon killing all the men in the fire crew. A rescue crew was organized and entered the mine to search for survivors. A second explosion occurred the same day about ten thirty in the evening. James and 41 other members of the rescue crew were killed in the second explosion. His body was found on Thursday July 16, 1908 on day 111 after the explosion, identified and removed from the mine. He was buried in an unmarked grave in the Hanna cemetery. (BL)

1908 July 27: Noah Young, Wyoming State Mine Inspector - Report to Governor B.B. Brooks - reported the details of the March 28, 1908 explosion of Union Pacific Coal Company's No. 1 mine in Hanna.

1908August 14: the Springfield Race Riot breaks out in Springfield, Illinois, the home town of Abraham Lincoln. Two blacks and four whites are killed. This is the first major riot in a Northern city in nearly half a century. (BlackPast.org)

1909: The Union Pacific Coal Company's No. 1 Underground Mine in Hanna - the mine where all of the Black miners in Hanna were killed - was abandoned.

1909 February 12: The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) was formed in New York City. (BlackPast.org)

1910: The underground stables at Hanna were removed from the Hanna mines. The livestock were now kept outside the mine at the Mule Barn. The mules and horses were now taken to the mine each morning and returned to the barn each evening. This move eliminated the need for flammable materials in the mine. The underground stables that caught fire during the 1903 and 1908 explosions significantly affected the No. 1 Mine, adding to the raging inferno.

1913 April 11: the Woodrow Wilson administration initiated the racial segregation of work places, rest rooms and lunch rooms in all federal offices across the nation. (BlackPast.org)

1915, April 1: The Wyoming Workmen's Compensation fund for people injured on the job was established in 1915. In Hanna, coal miners experienced many deaths and injuries. The Workman's Compensation was helpful to the miners, but not loved by the coal mining companies.

1916 August 15: The first binding contract between the United Mine Workers of America and the Southern Wyoming Coal Operations was reached and became effective in the Hanna mines. The agreement was entered into by the parties' covering wages and working conditions in local fields of Southern Wyoming by and between representatives of the United Mine Workers of America, District No. 22, and the Southern Wyoming Coal Operators, for a two-year period beginning September 1, 1916 and ending August 31, 1918. In this agreement it was definitely understood and was agreed upon that the contract was based on an eight-hour day. The African American miners were included in this contract.

1917 April 6: The United States entered World War I. Some 370,000 African-Americans join the armed forces with more than half serving in the French war zone. Over 1,000 black officers command these troops. (BlackPast.org)

1918: A new two-story Hanna K-12 School was approved to be built.

1920 August 26: the 19th Amendment to the Constitution was ratified giving all women the right to vote. Nonetheless, African American women, like African American men, are denied the franchise in most Southern states. (BlackPast.org)

1921 May 31 - June 1: At least 60 blacks and 21 whites were killed in the Tulsa Race Riot in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The violence destroyed a thriving African American neighborhood and business district called Deep Greenwood. (BlackPast.org)

1924: The African American community of Hanna purchased the old Methodist Church.

1925 Sunday December 14: A dedication service was held at the Colored Baptist Church honoring the purchase and erection of the new church.

New Colored Baptist Church at Hanna with the Congregation that attended the Dedication Services (Picture Courtesy of Mrs. Charles Brooks) (UPCCEM, February 1925)

1926 April 5: Charles H. Brooks - Hanna Old Timer and coal miner passed away.

Charles M. Brooks Passes On (UPCCEM, May 1926)

Brooks, Charles H.
Cemetery: Hanna
Headstone: Not Found
Born: July 29, 1862
Died: April 5, 1926
Age: 64

Note: Charles H. Brooks Passes On: The death of Charles H. Brooks (Colored) at his home on Monday, April 5th, cast a gloom over the entire community. “Charlie” was born in Gordonsville, Virginia, on July 29th, 1862, and came north in August, 1898 entering the service of The Union Pacific Coal Company at Hanna, remaining in service until about one year ago, when on account of poor health, he was compelled to retire. He affiliated with the First Baptist Church at an early age and, with his good wife, accepted the responsibilities and leadership of church work and the organization and building of the First Baptist Church of Hanna. “Charlie” was of a kind and cheerful disposition, always speaking well of everyone, and believing in the ultimate good of everything. He always practiced the Golden Rule, as he journeyed through life, doing unto others as he would they should do unto him. By his honest and upright dealing with all men he earned and held the respect and esteem of not only those of his own race but of all whom he came in contact. Funeral arrangements were under the auspices of Middle West Lodge, No. 24, A. F. and A.M. (Colored) of Rock Springs, and services were held at the First Baptist Church, Hanna, on Sunday, April 11th, 1926, at two P.M., the Reverend J.E. Allen, Secretary Inter-mountain Convention of Colored Baptist Churches, officiating, assisted by the Reverend C.L. Wright, pastor of the M.E. Church, Hanna. Interment took place in the Hanna cemetery, services at the grave being performed by the U.M.W. of A., and Middle West Lodge No. 24, A.F. and A.M., of which order deceased was an honored member. The love and esteem in which deceased was held was evidenced by the many beautiful floral offerings and the many friends, of all nationalities and creeds, that attended the ceremonies and followed the remains to their last resting place. Deceased leaves to mourn his loss a devoted wife, one daughter, Mrs. Leta Jones, residing at Norristown, Pennsylvania; two sisters, one residing at Norristown, Pennsylvania, and one at Gordonsville, Virginia. Out of town friends attending the funeral were Mr. And Mrs. Harry Schwein, of Omaha, Nebraska, nephew and niece of Mrs. Brooks, Mr. And Mrs. F.J. Garrett; Mr. And Mrs. J. Thomas, Mrs. Ernest, and Mrs. G. Swanson and children of Rawlins. (UPCCEM, May 1926)

Died in Hanna - Buried in Hanna - Headstone Not Found

1926 Friday October 1: Hanna played its first football game. They played Saratoga at Saratoga. This was the beginning of a long and exciting rivalry between Hanna and Saratoga. There were no African American players on the first team.

1928: Richard Hunt, African American, played on the third ever Hanna football team.

1928 Football Team (The Pioneer, December 1928)

1929 February 26: William Sled - Hanna Old Timer and coal miner passed away.

William Sled of Hanna (UPCCEM, May 1929)

Sled, William
Cemetery: Unknown
Headstone: Not Found
Born: December 27, 1869
Died: Tuesday, February 26, 1929
Age: 60
Nationality: African American

Note: William Sled of Hanna Called by T. H. Butler: It is with regret that we record the passing of another old timer and fellow worker. William Sled died on Tuesday, February 26th, at his home in Hanna after a lingering illness.
Bill, as we affectionately called him, was born on the 27th day of December, 1869, in the little town of Carney in Ray Count, Missouri, and when but seven years of age was taken by his parents across the Missouri River to the beautiful old town of Lexington, in Lafayette County, where he was reared to manhood. At the age of thirteen Bill went to work in the coal mines at Lexington. Coming west in 1897, he settled at Rock Springs, obtaining employment with The Union Pacific Coal Company. Later he moved to Hanna where he continued in the service until July 1st, 1928, at which time he was retired on a pension on account of poor health. Mr. Sled was honest and conscientious and a loyal and trusted employee. Funeral services were held at the First Baptist Church on Saturday, March 2nd, the Rev. J. M. Johnson of the Methodist Episcopal Church officiating. Music was rendered by the ladies of the choir of the First Baptist Church (Colored) and the singing was beautiful and impressive. Interment took place in the Hanna cemetery; the remains being attended to their final resting place by a long concourse of sorrowing relatives and friends. The floral offerings were many and beautiful. The decedent leaves to mourn his passing, his widow, Freda Belle Sled, to whom the sympathy of this community is extended. (UPCCEM May 1929)

Note: William Sled age 60 died Feb 26, 1929 in Hanna, Carbon, Wyoming of Cardiac Failure. (Death Certificate No, 349)

Died in Hanna - Buried in Hanna - Headstone Not Found

1930: The average Hanna Miner made $7.00 a day in wages.

1933 May 28: Lucille Belle Gillespie, four years old, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Nathan Gillespie, died in Hanna, Wyoming and was buried in the Hanna Cemetery.

Lucille Belle Gillespie (UPCCEM, July 1933)

Gillispie, Lucille Belle
Cemetery: Hanna
Headstone: no dates
Plot: 295
Born: July 9, 1925
Died: May 28, 1933
Age: 7 years, 10, months and 20 days

Note: Lucille Belle Gillespie was born in Hanna, Wyoming, July 9, 1925, and journeyed to the Great Beyond, May 28, 1933. She had been sick for some time and had been taken to several doctors, but no help could be given. Her death was the result of complications from scarlatina. The funeral services were held at the Baptist church, in charge of the Rev. Wilson of the Methodist church. Interment was made in the Hanna cemetery. The pallbearers were her playmates: Farmer Garrett of Laramie, Wyo., Jesse B. Owens, Johnny Owens, and Cecil Robinson of Hanna, Wyoming. Out of town people who attended the funeral were Mr. And Mrs. Garrett and family and Lloyd Lockhart of Laramie, Mrs. Cora Tinsel, Mrs. Daisy Ashford and Mrs. Hazel Lockhart of Rawlins, Wyo. She will be greatly missed by her loved ones and her many playmates. Her parents wish to express hearty thanks to the many friends who assisted them in the time of their bereavement as well as to those who contributed the beautiful floral offerings. (UPCCEM, July 1933)

(Image by Bob Leathers for the Hanna Basin Museum Website)

1936 August 3 - 9: Track star Jesse Owens won four gold medals for the United States at the Berlin, Germany Olympics. (BlackPast.org)

1937 June 22: boxer Joe Louis won the heavyweight championship in a bout with James J. Braddock in Chicago. (BlackPast.org)

1941 December 8: The United States declared war on Japan and entered World War II. The war initially began when Nazi Germany attacked Poland in September of 1939.

1941: The largest steam locomotive ever built, the Big Boy, went into service for Union Pacific Railroad. It steamed through Hanna many times.

1942: The U.S. Marine Corps accepted African American men for the first time at a segregated training facility at Camp Montford Point, North Carolina. They were known as the Montford Point Marines. (BlackPast.org)

1942: The Union Pacific Coal Company's No. 4A Underground Mine in Hanna started production of coal. The No. 4 Mine in Hanna was abandoned when the 4A Mine started operations.

1943 June 20-21: The Detroit Race Riot claimed 34 lives including 25 African Americans. Other riots occurred in Harlem, Mobile, Alabama, and Beaumont, Texas. (BlackPast.org)

1944: At least two unknown African Americans played on the Hanna six man football team.

Hanna Football, 1944, (Gert Milliken Collection from Gary Milliken)

1945 September 2: Japan surrendered. By the end of the war one million African American men and women had served in the U.S. military. (BlackPast.org)

1946: Bill Willis broke pro football's color barrier over six months before Jackie Robinson debuted for the Brooklyn Dodgers. African Americans finally played pro football after a 13-year embargo. (Wikipedia)

1947 April 10: Jackie Robinson of the Brooklyn Dodgers became the first African American to play major league baseball in the 20th Century. (BlackPast.org)

Left to right: Henry Anderson, W. A. Briggs, John A. Huhtala, Albert Kautto, John Lehti, Isaac Maki, Thomas Mellor and Nestor white, 40-year service employee at Hanna.

Anderson, John H.
Cemetery: Hanna
Headstone: "1872-1948"
Plot: 305
Born: 1872
Died: 1948
Age: 76

Note: John Anderson, Colored, was a member of the Old Timer's Association of The Union Pacific Coal Company. He entered service at Hanna in 1904. (History of Union Pacific Mines)

Note: John Henry Anderson, African American, was born 1872 in Virginia. He married Vetta Anderson also born in Virgina. He had one child with Vetta, James Nathan Anderson and two other children, one of which was Susie Anderson. John Henry was living with his wife Vetta in Hanna, Wyoming in 1940. He died in Hanna at the age of 76 and was buried in the Hanna Cemetery in plot 305. (Ancestry)

(Image by Bob Leathers )

1949: The Blizzard of 1949 was the worst storm in Wyoming history. The storm created nearly intolerable conditions in Hanna.

1950: A new, modern Hanna High School was built to meet the needs of the community.

1950: Chuck Cooper, Nathaniel Clifton, and Earl Lloyd became the first African Americans to play professional basketball in the modern National Basketball Association. (BlackPast.org)

1952: Robert Robinson, Richard Hunt and Don Owens, all African Americans, played on the Hanna High School six man state championship team.

(While Family from Bob Leathers)

1954 February 28: The Union Pacific Coal Company closed all of their mining operations in Hanna.

1962: Ernie Davis, a running back at Syracuse University, became the first African American athlete to receive college football's Heisman Trophy. (BlackPast.org)

1963 November 22: President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas. (BlackPast.org)

1964 July 2: The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was passed by Congress. The act baned discrimination in all public accommodations and by employers. It also established the Equal Opportunity Employment Commission (EEOC) to monitor compliance with the law. (BlackPast.org)

1965 August 11-16: The Watts Uprising (also known as the Watts Rebellion) occurred in the Watts neighborhood of Los Angeles. Thirty four people were killed and one thousand were injured in the five day confrontation. (BlackPast.org)

In 1944 the Price family moved to Hanna, Wyoming from Oklahoma. Mr. Price went to work for the Union Pacific Coal Company in the No. 4A Underground Coal Mine in Hanna. The couple divorced and Rena Price married Wallace Frye, also a coal miner working for the Union Pacific Coal Company in Hanna. Wallace Frye was previously married to Marietta Frye and they divorced October 15, 1952 in Green River, Wyoming. Rena and her family were members of the African American - Black Baptist / Episcopal Church at Hanna. In 1957 the combined family moved from Hanna to Los Angeles, California. On Aug. 11, 1965 the family became involved in the Watts Riot or Watts Rebellion.

More at: Watts Riot or Watts Rebellion

At a state Senate hearing in 1965, Rena Price is flanked by son Marquette and stepson Ronald. Behind her are attorneys Stanley R. Malone and A. L. Wirin. (Los Angeles Times) (From Mike Duffy. June 22, 2013)

Rena Price / Frye and the Watts Riot

Rena Price was in her kitchen in the Watts section of Los Angeles on Aug. 11, 1965, when a neighbor came to tell her that the police were arresting her 21-year-old son, Marquette Frye, for driving a car while intoxicated. She immediately raced to the corner of 116th Street and South Avalon Boulevard. Her first reaction was to scold her son for driving while intoxicated. Marquette insisted he was sober, but Mrs. Price shrugged his arm away from her shoulder and said: "You're not acting normal. You're not acting right. Get away from me." Her son, according to the arresting officer, highway patrolman Lee W. Minikus, had failed a series of sobriety tests but had been good-humored and cooperative until she arrived. Minikus later said that "to all appearances" Mrs. Price's words "appeared to incite Marquette to refuse to submit to physical arrest."
Accounts vary on what instigated the scuffle, but punches were thrown which culminated in Rena Price, Marquette Frye and his brother Ronald, a passenger in the car, being arrested and taken to jail. After rumors spread that the police had roughed up Rena Price and kicked a pregnant woman, angry mobs turned a 46-square-mile swath of Los Angeles into a combat zone that became known as the Watts riots. After six days of violence, 34 people were dead and more than 1,000 were wounded. Property damage approached $100 million (in 1965 dollars). "I didn't know about any of the rioting until my daughter came and got me out of jail at 7 the next morning," Price told The Times on the 40th anniversary of the riots in 2005. "I was surprised. I had never heard of a riot. There were never any riots before. I went back to my house. Where else was I going to go?" Price, a reluctant figure in one of the grimmest chapters in the city's history, died of natural causes June 10 in Los Angeles, according to a son, Wendell Price. She was 97. Born Rena Davis on May 13, 1916, into a farming family in Oklahoma, Rena completed the eighth grade before marrying C. L. Price, with whom she had four children. Marquette was the fourth. Six months after the birth of Marquette in 1944, the family moved to Hanna, Wyoming where there was a mining boom. Shortly after arriving in Wyoming, Rena and Mr. Price divorced, and she began seeing Wallace Frye, who also had four children from a previous relationship. They married, and later moved to Los Angeles, CA in 1957. Rena found work cleaning houses and baby sitting. The neighborhood children she looked after nicknamed her "the Lady."
After the Fryes' names appeared in news accounts about the riot's inception, most of the family began using the last name of Price, the surname of Rena's first husband. "When people heard the name Frye, all kinds of red flags went up. We all got hassled," son Wendell recalled in an interview last week. Price was found guilty of interfering with police officers, a misdemeanor, was fined $250 and given a 30-day jail term, later reduced to two years' probation. In 1966 an appellate panel reversed her conviction, citing prejudicial remarks the prosecution had made to the jury blaming Price and her sons for causing the deadly riots. She told The Times decades later, "nobody would hire me after the arrest. We survived because my husband worked at a paper factory." Her husband, Wallace James Frye, died in 1978. Her survivors include two sons, Wendell and Charles, and 19 grandchildren. Some of the above information was printed in the 22 June 2013 edition of the Los Angeles Times and the 29 Jun 2013 edition of the New York Times. (Ancestry)

Name: Rena Price; Birth Date: 13 May 1916;Birth Place: Oklahoma; Death Date:10 Jun 2013; Death Place: Los AngelesCounty, California; Cemetery: Rose Hills Memorial Park; Burial or Cremation Place: Whittier, Los Angeles County, California (California Death Index)

Name: Wallace Frye; Birth Date: 11 Dec 1911; Issue Year: Before 1951; Issue State: Arkansas; Last Residence: 90011, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, USA; Death Date: Dec 1976 (Social Security Death Index)

Name: Marquette Luther Frye; Birth Date: July 3, 1944; Birth Place: Oklahoma, United States of America; Death Date: 24 Dec 1986; Death Place: Inglewood, Los Angeles County, California; Cemetery: Rose Hills Memorial Park; Burial or Cremation Place: Whittier, Los Angeles County, California (California Death Index)

1967 June 12: the U.S. Supreme Court in Loving v. Virginia struck down state interracial marriage bans. (BlackPast.org)

1967 July 23: the Detroit Race Riot erupted - 43 people were killed, 1,189 were injured and over 7,000 were arrested. (BlackPast.org)

1968 April 4: Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee on. In the wake of the assassination 125 cities in 29 states experienced uprisings. By April 11, 1968 - 46 people were killed and 35,000 were injured in those confrontations. (BlackPast.org)

1968: Arthur Ashe became the first African American to win the Men's Singles competition in the U.S. Open. (BlackPast.org)

1950 January 21: James Lonnie Isaac, African American, was born in Monroe, Louisiana to Clinton "Dewey" Sr. and Louise "Lovie" (Watkins) Isaac

1960's: James moved with his family to Hanna, Wyoming.

1969 October 17: Fourteen African American football players: Jerry Berry, Tony Gibson, John Griffin, Lionel Grimes, Mel Hamilton, Ron Hill, Willie Hysaw, Earl Lee, Tony McGee, Don Meadows, Ivie Moore, Joe Williams, Ted Williams and James Isaac asked the coach Lloyd Eaton for permission to wear black armbands in the game against Brigham Young University as a protest against the LDS church’s ban of black people from the priesthood in the church. The coach refused to let the players wear armbands and kicked them off the team. The university president and political leaders backed the coach's actions. The incident ended in litigation and was disastrous for the University of Wyoming football program and for James Isaac.

More at: The Black 14: Race, Politics, Religion and Wyoming Football

1976 December 25: James Issac, an African American, was an excellent athlete for the Hanna-Elk Mountain High School. He played all the available sports - football, basketball and track. His efforts earned him a full ride scholarship to the University of Wyoming to play football. After the Black 14 incident James left the University of Wyoming and attended Dakota Wesleyan in South Dakota. He played football and graduated from there. James died an early death after a life ending dispute with his wife in San Bernardino, California and was buried in Rawlins, Wyoming cemetery.

James Isaac

James Isaac. Hanna High School Picture (Ancestory.com)

Rawlins, Wyoming Cemetery Records

Charles Isaac - James Isaac's brother - is pictured below.

Clinton Isaac. Hanna High School Picture (Ancestry.com)

1968

1968 James and Clint Isaac Hanna High Football (Hanna Miner)

1974 April 8: Henry (Hank) Aaron of the Atlanta Braves hit his 715th home run surpassing Babe Ruth to become the all-time leader in home runs in major league baseball. (BlackPast.org)

1978 September 15: Muhammad Ali becomame the first boxer to win the heavyweight championship three times when he defeats Leon Spinks at the Superdome in New Orleans. (BlackPast.org)

1983 November 2: President Ronald Reagan signed a bill establishing January 20 as a federal holiday in honor of Martin Luther King, Jr. (BlackPast.org)

1989 March: Frederick Drew Gregory becomes the first African American to command a space shuttle when he headed the crew of the Discovery. (BlackPast.org)

1989August 10: General Colin L. Powell was named chair of the United States Joint Chiefs of Staff, the first African American to hold the post. (BlackPast.org)

2009 January 20: Barack Obama, the first African American President, was sworn in as the 44th President of the United States. (BlackPast.org)

2021: The African American section of the Hanna Cemetery is a row of graves running west to east in the southwest corner of the Hanna Cemetery. There aren't any known African American graves on the outside of this small area of the cemetery.

(Image by Bob Leathers)