Men in the Mines

Nova Scotia Mine Fatalities, 1838-1992

The searchable database presented here is based on two fatality lists compiled originally by the Nova Scotia Department of Mines and Energy. These lists have been classified as the 'Mine Injuries and Fatalities' series, in the Department of Labour fonds held at Nova Scotia Archives (RG 19, vol. 4, no. 5 and vol. 5, no. 2; mfm.15675). They appear to have been compiled from names recorded over the years in the Annual Reports of the Nova Scotia Department of Mines.

Many additional information sources for mine and quarry fatalities in Nova Scotia have been identified and reviewed as part of this project, in order to expand the scope and time-coverage provided by the two foundation lists. Other similar listings are known to exist privately in the province; one of them, compiled and made available to us by Mary Willa Littler of Springhill, NS, covers the years 1876-1994 and has enabled us to add valuable information on mine fatalities from the Springhill area.

The database now contains 2,584 entries and is searchable on the name of the deceased, date of death, cause of death, name of mine (where known), type of mine, and location (community and/or county) in Nova Scotia. Only 7 names have been identified for the years prior to 1866.