OBIT: John ALLEN, 1880, Chest Spring, Cambria County, PA Contributed for use in the USGenWeb Archives by JRB Copyright 2010. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/pa/cambria/ _________________________________________ Morning Tribune Altoona, Pa., Saturday, 14 Aug 1880 BOILER EXPLOSION. John Allen Killed at Ashland Furnace. The Building Wrecked. Ashland Furnace was yesterday the scene of a terrible boiler explosion which fortunately resulted in the death of but one man. Right on the bank of Clearfield creek stands Pierrie's shingle mill, in which are made laths, shingles and barrel staves. About noon the boiler in the building burst, destroying the structure and killing John Allen, the engineer, instantly. The boiler was an old fashioned, stationary cylinder affair, and had been in use for a long time. The engineer was working at the fire when it went off. The whole building, a two story frame, was wrecked and fell in a mass. Allen was instantly killed and most fearfully mangled. The top of his head, one arm and one foot were taken off. He was rescued in a very few minutes. Allen was a single man and a resident of Chest Spring. Two men were at work in the mill and both very near the boiler. Neither was injured but their escape was miraculous. One of the men was reaching across a running saw and was blown clear over it, landing safely on the other side. The building fell all around him and there was not a hole over two feet square for him to crawl out. Immediately after the wreck fell it caught fire from the furnace and there was every prospect of an extensive conflagration. Fortunately a good supply of water was in the creek near by and the fire was put out. The cause of the explosion is not known and no investigation has yet been made. Ashland Furnace is a small village in the woods about twelve miles from Altoona up the Dry Gap road.