Meadow Quarry 1905
Meadow Quarry, before and after!
Meadow Pond, as it’s called now, was mined in the early 1900s and today it’s a beautiful wetland that supports a variety of waterfowl and aquatic species. The site contains forested areas, gypsum outcrops and a variety of flora. The Government of Nova Scotia stocks this well-known fishing hole and the West Hants Wildlife Association hosts an annual ice fishing derby on it.
When the site was an active quarry, it had a shack that was used to store dynamite and black powder for all the Wentworth Creek gypsum quarries. In mining, blasting is used to break rock off a rock face so it can be collected and processed.
When the dynamite at Meadow Quarry got damp, a fire was lit in the shack’s wood stove to dry it out.
One day in 1905, the fire got out of hand and caused the shack to blow up.
Workers in other areas of the Wentworth Creek quarries thought the daily blast had been set off early but soon learned what had happened.
No people were hurt but, sadly, two horses were injured and had to be put down.
Historical accidents are partly why the modern mining industry is so safety focussed - Nova Scotia's mining and quarrying industry has reduced its injury rate 90% since the Westray public inquiry report was released in 1997.
