The Energy Loop: Huntington/Eccles Canyons Scenic Byway
Scofield Cemetery, UT

Scattered throughout this country cemetery are the dilapidated wooden markers of the miners who died in the Scofield Mine Disaster on May 1, 1900. Their graves are now accompanied by new wooden markers erected at the 100 year anniversary of the tragedy. The new markers are of a smooth deep red wood that provides a stark contrast for the original markers of warped gray wood. The presence of so many of the identical new markers creates a haunting picture of an industrial catastrophe.

On May 1, 1900, Portal Number Four of the Scofield Mine exploded in a blast of burning coal dust. Those who weren't killed in the blast died of the carbon monoxide that filled the mine. A few of the miners escaped through other openings, but the reality of the loss is still obvious today in the collection of headstones on the side of the hill, all with the same date.