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Photo(s)
When people visit Hoover Dam in Nevada, two questions inevitably come up:"How many
workers died in the dam's construction?" and "How many of those are buried in the
concrete?" According to the U.S. Bereau of Reclamation, various numbers for the death
count come up, the most common figure being 112. Another common number is 96, which
accounts for the number of industrial fatalities during construction . Industrial fatalities
include deaths by drowning, blasting, accidents, falling rocks, falls from canyon walls,
being struck by equipment and truck accidents, but do not include deaths from illnesses
due to heat, pneumonia, heart trouble, ect. The answer to the second question is much
clearer: None of the workers who died are buried in the concrete. Hoover Dam was built
with interlocking concrete blocks, set on top of each other. There were small 25 x 25 foot
blocks and larger 25 x 60 foot units. Each block was 5 feet high. Concrete was added by
bucket, 8 cubic yards at a time. After each bucket, workers, or "puddlers," would tromp
around, packing down the concrete. But the fresh concrete was never deep enough to
bury someone. Adding a bucket to the largest blocks increased the level of concrete by 2
to the 3 inches. Adding a bucket to the smaller blocks increased the level by about 6
inches. The story of the first and last men to die on the project is a bit suspect. On
December 20, 1922, J.G.Tierny, a Bureau of Reclamation employee, was said to be the
first man to die on the project. While doing a survey from a barge, he fell in the river and
drowned. Exactly 13 years later, on December 20,1935, his son Patrick W. Tierney, also a
Bureau employee, fell from one of the intake towers, This story has one problem. The
dam was built from 1931 to 1935, so J.G. Tierney was not involved in the "construction" of
the dam. He was doing a survey about where to build it.
RESOURCE: The above information was taken from the official Bureau of Reclamation
website for Hoover Dam, at www.usbr.gov/lc/hooverdam.
workers died in the dam's construction?" and "How many of those are buried in the
concrete?" According to the U.S. Bereau of Reclamation, various numbers for the death
count come up, the most common figure being 112. Another common number is 96, which
accounts for the number of industrial fatalities during construction . Industrial fatalities
include deaths by drowning, blasting, accidents, falling rocks, falls from canyon walls,
being struck by equipment and truck accidents, but do not include deaths from illnesses
due to heat, pneumonia, heart trouble, ect. The answer to the second question is much
clearer: None of the workers who died are buried in the concrete. Hoover Dam was built
with interlocking concrete blocks, set on top of each other. There were small 25 x 25 foot
blocks and larger 25 x 60 foot units. Each block was 5 feet high. Concrete was added by
bucket, 8 cubic yards at a time. After each bucket, workers, or "puddlers," would tromp
around, packing down the concrete. But the fresh concrete was never deep enough to
bury someone. Adding a bucket to the largest blocks increased the level of concrete by 2
to the 3 inches. Adding a bucket to the smaller blocks increased the level by about 6
inches. The story of the first and last men to die on the project is a bit suspect. On
December 20, 1922, J.G.Tierny, a Bureau of Reclamation employee, was said to be the
first man to die on the project. While doing a survey from a barge, he fell in the river and
drowned. Exactly 13 years later, on December 20,1935, his son Patrick W. Tierney, also a
Bureau employee, fell from one of the intake towers, This story has one problem. The
dam was built from 1931 to 1935, so J.G. Tierney was not involved in the "construction" of
the dam. He was doing a survey about where to build it.
RESOURCE: The above information was taken from the official Bureau of Reclamation
website for Hoover Dam, at www.usbr.gov/lc/hooverdam.
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History of the Hoover Dam
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