BREWSTER – A bolder, gifted by a Putnam County entrepreneur, has been thoughtfully placed along the Putnam Rail Trail to serve as the central element of the Tilly Foster Mine Disaster Memorial.

Randy Calano, president of the Putnam County Italian American Social Club, praised David Simon from Simon’s Auto Wreckers and Tom Feighery, commissioner of the Putnam Department of Public Works, for helping move the massive boulder.

The rock will hold a plaque, remembering one of the darkest days in Putnam County history when tragedy struck outside the Village of Brewster.

The Tilly Foster Mine Disaster claimed the lives of a group of hard-working immigrant miners, many of them Italian, who came to this country in search of opportunity but instead met a sudden death under difficult and dangerous working conditions.

The Tilly Foster Mine held the distinction of being the world’s deepest open pit mine at the time, with a depth approaching 600 feet.  The Italian miners who toiled there endured harsh conditions and, in death, were denied the dignity they deserved. They were identified not by their names, but only by the numbers assigned to them by their employers.

Although the disaster attracted global attention, the men involved never received a suitable burial or memorial.  Historical records indicate that at least seven Italian miners were interred at St.   Lawrence O’Toole Cemetery in Brewster.

The Putnam County Italian American Social Club decided to ensure that the victims of the horrific event receive the honor and recognition they deserve by erecting a memorial to commemorate the lives of the seven men killed in the explosion.

Club President Randy Calano said: “The poor souls never had a proper burial. They never had an identity. This monument will now serve as a lasting tribute to their sacrifice and a way to restore their humanity to history by honoring these forgotten laborers, whose hard work helped shape the foundation of Putnam County.”

The memorial is scheduled to be unveiled in July.