True Life Tuesday: The Italian Hall Disaster

The Italian Hall Disaster occurred on December 24, 1913 in Calumet, Michigan. The Calumet and Hecla Mining Company (C&H) was the largest mining company in the copper country in the Keweenaw Peninsula. On July 23, 1913 the Western Federation of Miners (WFM) went on strike. The strike was still taking place when the tragedy occurred. On December 24 many of the striking miners and their families attended a party of the Italian Hall in Calumet put on by the WFM Ladies' Auxiliary. 

The party took place on the 2nd floor of the hall. There was only a steep stairway that allowed access to the site. While there were over 400 people in the room someone yelled fire. The attendees panicked and ran for the staircase to escape. There were 73 fatalities, 59 of which were children with the youngest being 2 years old. It was never determined who yelled fire but many believe that it was an anti-union ally of mine management. Eight witnesses testified that the man who yelled fire was wearing a Citizen's Alliance button, a group who opposed unions.

There was a coroner's inquest into the disaster. At the inquest many of the witnesses did not speak English and were not given interpreters. Many of them also said that they did not see what happened. After three days the ruling did not provide a cause of death. On March 7, 1914 a subcommittee of the US House of Representatives took testimony. There were 20 witnesses who testified and those who wanted one were given a interpreter. 

A relief committee of the Citizen's Alliance raised $25,000 for the victim's families however the families refused the funds. The committee members found out that the WFM president, Charles Moyer, told them to refuse the money. They kidnapped him from his hotel in nearby Hancock, shot him and put him on a train telling him not to return. He was given medical attention in Chicago where he held a press conference stating that he would return.

The hall was demolished in 1984 and only the archway remains. The site is now a park that is maintained by the Keweenaw National Historical Parks and a marker was erected in 1987. The event was memorialized by Woody Guthrie in his song "1913 Massacre".