Willow Island Disaster Memorial – St Marys, West Virginia - Atlas Obscura
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Willow Island Disaster Memorial

St Marys, West Virginia

A memorial honoring those who perished in one of the worst construction disasters in U.S. history.  

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This memorial was dedicated in 2000. rbt45769 (Atlas Obscura User)
This memorial was dedicated in 2000. rbt45769 (Atlas Obscura User)
This is the cooling tower where the tragedy occurred in 1978. rbt45769 (Atlas Obscura User)
The memorial is shaped like a cooling towers. rbt45769 (Atlas Obscura User)
A high school student helped organize the construction of the memorial. rbt45769 (Atlas Obscura User)
The Willow Island station is a short distance from the memorial. rbt45769 (Atlas Obscura User)
The view of the cooling tower months after the collapse. New York Times Magazine photographer, December 3, 1978. (Creative Commons)
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On April 27, 1978, at 10 a.m., a concrete pour into one of the towers at Pleasants Power Station ended in disaster. The crane hoisting buckets of concrete fell toward the inside of the tower. The concrete that had been poured during the previous day began to collapse and unravel. As the concrete fell, the scaffolding supporting the workers fell into the center of the tower. Fifty-one workers were killed in the accident. The incident has been considered one of the worst construction disasters in the nation’s history.

Know Before You Go

The memorial is 18 miles north of Parkersburg, West Virginia on State Route 2. It's five miles south of Saint Marys, West Virginia also on State Route 2. It is open year-round, free of charge. A picnic table and benches are also on site.

memorials
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Edited by
Craig Baker
Published
September 17, 2019
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