Town of Hanna No. 2

In Wyoming an early advantage for coal mining is that coal deposits are directly on the surface. Thus, in many parts of the state, in addition to large corporately owned mines, there were mines operated by single individuals. On of the areas where there are surfacial deposits of coal is Hanna.

Surface vein of coal near Hanna. Photo by the Albertype Company, Brooklyn, N. Y.

The Albertype Company, owned by Herman L. Wittemann, published souvenir books, pamphlets, and postcards from 1890 to 1952, using a process invented by Austrian photographer Joseph Albert (1825-1886). The process using a collotype coating on glass plates permitted high speed mass production of photographs for the first time. Albertype photos also have an advantage that although the paper may yellow, the inks, unlike normal photographs, do not fade. The company would have photographs taken by its own agents and would also arrange to utilize photographs taken by others. Thus, Albertype postcards provide a valuable documentation of scenes that no longer exist.

In addition to Carbon, Hanna, and Rock Springs, the Union Pacific also operated mines near Diamondville and Superior, discussed on the subsequent pages. As noted, unions became a significant force mining towns in southern Wyoming. Thus, Labor Day parades were a major festivity.

Like Dietz, discussed on a later page, Hanna consisted of multiple towns, each numbered, Hanna No. 1, Hanna No. 2, and Hanna No. 3.

Labor Day Parade, Hanna, 1914

Hanna, established in 1886, was named after Marcus A. Hanna, an Ohio mining, shipping, and railroad magnate. Hanna is also noted as having rescued Ohio Governor William McKinley from financial failure. Hanna subsequently served as McKinley's campaign manager. He strongly disagreed with the reform policies of President Theodore Roosevelt, referring to Roosevelt as "that damned cowboy." At the time of his death in 1904, Hanna was being groomed for a possible race against Roosevelt for the Republican presidential nomination.

Hanna No. 2, 1910

Hanna was the site of the worst mining disaster in the history of the state. On June 30, 1903, an explosion occured in the Union Pacific's Hanna No. 1 Mine. 169 were killed. Six hundred children were rendered fatherless. It was not the first mining disaster in the state, nor the last, just the worst. Earlier, disasters had occured at in 1886 at the Almy No. 4 Mine with 13 killed; in 1895 at Red Canyon near Evanston with 60 killed. In 1901, at Diamondville, two disasters occured, one on Feb. 15 with 26 killed, and another on Oct. 26, with 22 killed. Later disasters occured in Hanna in 1908 with 58 killed; Kemmerer No. 4 mine in 1912 with 6 killed; Cumberland No. 2 Mine with 5 killed; the Frontier No. 1 Mine near Kemmerer in 1923 with 99 killed; and Sublet No. 5 Mine in 1924 with 39 killed.

Hanna No. 3, approx. 1910

Among those killed in the 1908 Hanna disaster, involving two explosions, was the State safety inspector. His successor reported to Gov. B. B. Brooks that the second of the two explosions was the haste of the Union Pacific Coal Company to open an entry while a fire was still burning. Each widow received $800.00 and each surviving child under the age of fifteen, $50.00.

Hanna Railway Depot, 1910.

Next Page: Diamondville.