During the past two centuries, the central region of the Tar Heel State was populated with numerous active coal mines, many of which dealt with catastrophes such as cave-ins or gas explosions. Over fifty-three miners lost their lives in an explosion at the Carolina Mine at Coal Glen in 1925, the largest industrial disaster in state history. The Egypt Coal Mine was a key resource for Confederate forces during the Civil War despite a series of explosions that claimed scores of lives. The last efforts by the Raleigh Mining Company to continue coal mining in the state in the 1950s were marred by accidents and signaled an eventual end to the industry. Author John Hairr chronicles the history and tragedy of coal mining in North Carolina's Deep River region.
