Deputy Sheriff George Ridgeway

George Ridgeway

Deputy Sheriff George Ridgeway was shot and killed during a miner's strike at the Latrobe & Connellsville Coal Company.

He had been assigned to the protect the belongings of a non-union miner who was moving from the Derry No. 1 mine to Snydertown. He had just passed through Loyolhanna when he was confronted by several union members who attempted to stop the wagon. A struggle ensued between Deputy Ridgeway and one of the miners, who produced a gun and shot him in the head, killing him.

The man who shot Deputy Ridgeway fled to LaSalle, Illinois, where he was arrested in February 1911. He was extradited back to Westmoreland County, convicted of murder, and sentenced to six years in prison.

Deputy Ridgeway was survived by his wife.

Two weeks after Deputy Ridgeway's murder Deputy Sheriff Charles Davidson was struck and killed by a train while fleeing striking miners who were attempting to attack him near the same mine.