Michigan Travel · Marquette
A century after Barnes-Hecker killed 51 miners, a Negaunee historian shares his research Oct. 21 at the Marquette Regional History Center
MARQUETTE, Mich. — On Nov. 3, 1926, a routine underground blast at the Barnes-Hecker iron mine near Ishpeming broke the mine open to the waterlogged sand and gravel above it. Mud and water filled the shafts within about 15 minutes. Fifty-one men died, and 41 of their bodies were never recovered. It is still the deadliest mining disaster in Michigan history.
With the centennial two weeks away, mining historian Jim Paquette will present “Uncovering the Truths About the Barnes-Hecker Mine Disaster” at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 21, at the Marquette Regional History Center, 145 W. Spring St. A $5 donation is suggested.
Paquette, a lifelong Negaunee resident and 2022 recipient of Northern Michigan University’s Alumni Achievement Award, has spent years on the disaster. Organizers say his research has turned up evidence that may shed new light on what happened. In an account published in Michigan History magazine, he wrote that only one man, motorman Wilfred Wills, made it out from underground, climbing ladders ahead of the rising water, and that the dead left 41 widows and 132 children.
More centennial events.
• 7 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 29: Zach Lanciani on “Philo P. Chase and the Barnes-Hecker Mine,” NMU Archives, 228 Harden Hall. The Beaumier U.P. Heritage Center in Harden Hall also has a free exhibit on the disaster.
• 2 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 1: ecumenical memorial service, Bethany Lutheran Church, 715 Mather Ave., Ishpeming.
• 7 p.m. Monday, Nov. 2: candlelight vigil with bagpipers at the mine site in Ely Township.
• 11:20 a.m. Tuesday, Nov. 3: church bells across Ishpeming toll 51 times at the hour of the collapse.
For details, call the history center at 906-226-3571.
Sources:
Upper Peninsula News, “Marquette history center hosts Barnes-Hecker disaster presentation,” Oct. 19, 2026 (talk details, Paquette background, disaster account citing Michigan History magazine, centennial schedule), https://upperpeninsulanews.com/articles/marquette-center-hosts-barnes-hecker-disaster-talk-wednesday-mvf24sxy
Marquette Regional History Center, https://marquettehistory.org/
Photo: Andrew Jameson, “Cliffs Shaft Mine 2009a.jpg,” Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/), cropped and color-adjusted, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cliffs_Shaft_Mine_2009a.jpg
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