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Gas Explosion Claims the Home of John W. Reid

Family Escapes without Serious Injury

 

At 11:30 in the evening of Monday, April 21, 1908, a natural gas explosion destroyed the house of John Way Reid in the town of Colona in Moon Township, now known as the Colona Heights area of Monaca, Beaver County, Pennsylvania.  At the time the explosion occurred, John Reid; his wife, Anna Catherine; and two daughters, Hazel and Jessie; were already asleep in bed.

The explosion was reported in two local newspapers.  The force of the blast blew out all four sides of the house and the floors were blown to pieces.  Most of the contents of the house fell into the basement, including Mr. and Mrs. Reid.  The two daughters found themselves on their mattress on the porch roof when they awoke after the blast.

Some details, which were not reported in the newspapers, have been passed down in the family.  The papers mention that they "were assisted by neighbors who promptly responded on the scene".  One of these neighbors was the eldest Reid daughter, Edna Reid Dinsmore, who lived next door with her family.  According to the family story, John thought it was the end of the world and was prepared to gather his family together and await the "Coming of the Lord".  Edna had a more earthly interpretation, however, and yelled for them to get out of the cellar.  John complied, and he and his wife extricated themselves just before another smaller explosion occurred (this second one is not mentioned in the papers) and the whole building quickly caught fire.

The house was a two story frame structure, and losses were estimated at $3500 and $5000 in the two papers.  One of the articles reported that the explosion occurred "apparently" on the second floor.  One side of the house went "a considerable distance" and hit the residence of James Springer, "breaking the window lights and otherwise damaging the property".  A refrigerator that had been on the back porch was found two hundred feet away, and the girls' mattress was blown into a nearby field.  All of the furniture burned in the fire.

Miraculously, no one was seriously hurt.  Catherine, the mother, was hurt the worst, having gotten cut about the head and face when she climbed out of the basement.  She also got some bruises when she fell into the basement.  John landed on his head in the cellar but sustained only some minor cuts about his face and bruises on his body.  The girls were bruised about their bodies and had cuts on their arms.

John Way Reid rebuilt on the same property, and that house is still standing.

 


   

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This page was last updated on: Sunday, September 13, 2014

 

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