United States Cartridge Company explosion

Last updated
United States Cartridge Company explosion
DateJuly 29, 1903
Time10:15 am
Coordinates 42°37′17″N71°17′44″W / 42.62139°N 71.29556°W / 42.62139; -71.29556 Coordinates: 42°37′17″N71°17′44″W / 42.62139°N 71.29556°W / 42.62139; -71.29556
CauseChemical reaction
Deaths22

The United States Cartridge Company explosion occurred on July 29, 1903, in present-day Lowell, Massachusetts. The explosion of two buildings used to store dynamite and gunpowder killed 22 people and destroyed 13 homes.

Contents

Explosion

The United States Cartridge Company owned two 20x20 brick magazines on the edge of the Concord River in Tewksbury's Wigginville neighborhood (the neighborhood was annexed to the City of Lowell in 1905). [1] [2] They shared ownership of one of these buildings with the Nichols & Fletcher estate, who leased their third of the building to the American Powder Company for the storage of dynamite. The other building, located 200 feet away, was leased to DuPont for the storage of gunpowder. Each building could hold 2.5 tons of explosives. When the buildings were constructed, there were no houses within a mile and a half of them. However, the creation of a trolley line through the area in 1897 resulted in French-Canadiens laborers settling here. [1]

On the morning of July 29, 1903, U.S. Cartridge employees went to the building to remove the company's cans so that carpenters could work the floor. After all of the cans had been removed, smoke was observed coming out of the dynamite section of the building. At 10:15 am, the American Powder Company's dynamite exploded, which ignited the gunpowder. The explosion triggered a similar blast in the second structure. The explosions killed 17 people and the men who were working closest to the building when it exploded were so badly dismembered that their bodies were never found. The 13 homes closest to the explosion caught fire and were flattened. A total of 67 residences were damaged and 15 families were left homeless. [1] 5 more people died from their injuries, bringing the total number of deaths to 22. [3]

Investigation

Judge Samuel P. Hadley of the Lowell Police Court presided over an inquest into the deaths caused by the explosions. [4] According to Hadley's report, the disaster was caused by carpentry foreman Clarendon Goodwin, who poured an unknown substance onto the floor to clean it. This caused a chemical reaction with spilled nitroglycerin which was hastened by scrubbing the floor with a broom. He also held the government of Tewksbury responsible for the deaths because they did not shut down the magazines after a neighborhood was built near them. Lastly, he found that the United States Cartridge Company, American Powder Company, and DuPont were responsible because they did not move their explosives from the area even though they knew it posed a threat to the lives of the people who lived near the magazines. [5]

Lawsuits

The United States Cartridge Company and American Powder Company settled about 170 claims for damages out of court. [6] The estates of four of the deceased went to trial and were awarded $4,500 each. The decision was appealed to the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, who upheld the verdict. [7]

Related Research Articles

Dynamite Explosive made using nitroglycerin

Dynamite is an explosive made of nitroglycerin, sorbents and stabilizers. It was invented by the Swedish chemist and engineer Alfred Nobel in Geesthacht, Northern Germany and patented in 1867. It rapidly gained wide-scale use as a more powerful alternative to black powder.

Detonator Device used to trigger an explosion

A detonator, frequently a blasting cap, is a device used to trigger an explosive device. Detonators can be chemically, mechanically, or electrically initiated, the last two being the most common.

Tewksbury Hospital United States historic place

Tewksbury Hospital is a National Register of Historic Places-listed site located on an 800+ acre campus in Tewksbury, Massachusetts. The centerpiece of the hospital campus is the 1894 Richard Morris Building.

Largest artificial non-nuclear explosions Wikimedia list article

There have been many extremely large explosions, accidental and intentional, caused by modern high explosives, boiling liquid expanding vapour explosions (BLEVEs), older explosives such as gunpowder, volatile petroleum-based fuels such as gasoline, and other chemical reactions. This list contains the largest known examples, sorted by date. An unambiguous ranking in order of severity is not possible; a 1994 study by historian Jay White of 130 large explosions suggested that they need to be ranked by an overall effect of power, quantity, radius, loss of life and property destruction, but concluded that such rankings are difficult to assess.

Peters Cartridge Company Defunct ammo manufacturer in Ohio

The Peters Cartridge Company was a company located along the Little Miami River in Kings Mills, Ohio, which specialized in gunpowder and ammunition production. Founded in 1887 by Gershom Moore Peters, the company supplied military ammunition to various countries during both world wars. Following its demise in 1944, the site was repurposed by Columbia Records and later Seagram, before being abandoned in 1968 and falling into disrepair. Its historic buildings, built in 1916, were added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1985. A brewery and apartment complex themed to the defunct company was constructed on site in 2020, in which many structures were restored and the company's history was placed on display for guests.

Hercules, Inc. was a chemical and munitions manufacturing company based in Wilmington, Delaware, United States, incorporated in 1912 as the Hercules Powder Company following the breakup of the DuPont explosives monopoly by the U.S. Circuit Court in 1911. Hercules Powder Company became Hercules, Inc. in 1966, operating under this name until 2008, when it was merged into Ashland Inc.

Ballincollig Royal Gunpowder Mills

Ballincollig Royal Gunpowder Mills was one of three Royal gunpowder mills that manufactured gunpowder for the British Government. Located in Ballincollig near Cork city in Ireland, the powder mills were originally opened in 1794 as a private enterprise, before being taken over by the British Government during the Napoleonic Wars.

Gunpowder magazine Building used to store gunpowder

A gunpowder magazine is a magazine (building) designed to store the explosive gunpowder in wooden barrels for safety. Gunpowder, until superseded, was a universal explosive used in the military and for civil engineering: both applications required storage magazines. Most magazines were purely functional and tended to be in remote and secure locations. They are the successor to the earlier powder towers and powder houses.

Eleutherian Mills United States historic place

From 1802 to 1921, Eleutherian Mills was a gunpowder mill site used for the manufacture of explosives founded by Eleuthère Irénée du Pont, which grew into the DuPont company. The name also refers to the house on the hill above the mills, which was the first du Pont family home in America. In 1957 the site became an outdoor museum when the Hagley Museum and Library was founded. The site was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1966.

Powder mill

A powder mill was a mill where gunpowder is made from sulfur, saltpeter and charcoal.

California Powder Works

California Powder Works was the first American explosive powder manufacturing company west of the Rocky Mountains. When the outbreak of the Civil War cut off supplies of gunpowder to California's mining and road-building industries, a local manufacturer was needed. Originally located near Santa Cruz, California, the company was incorporated in 1861 and began manufacturing gunpowder in May 1864. For 50 years, it was a major employer in the county, employing between 150 and 275 men. The powder works was located on a flat adjacent to the San Lorenzo River, three miles upstream of Santa Cruz.

Oriental Powder Company was a gunpowder manufacturer with mills located on the Presumpscot River in Gorham and Windham, Maine. The company was one of the four largest suppliers to Union forces through the American Civil War.

Laflin & Rand Powder Company

Laflin & Rand Powder Company was a gunpowder and early smokeless powder manufacturer notable for producing the smokeless powder used by United States Army infantry rifles from 1896 to 1908, which included the period of development of the M1903 Springfield rifle and .30-06 Springfield cartridge.

United States Cartridge Company American cartridge ammunition manufacturer

The United States Cartridge Company was an early manufacturer of cartridge ammunition for small arms. The company was founded in 1869 by American Civil War general Benjamin Butler. Company startup was during the most rapid evolution of cartridge design to date. Lowell, Massachusetts emerged as one of the most successful cartridge producers in the United States while Butler served as a congressman from Massachusetts from 1867 to 1879 and as governor from 1883 to 1884. After supplying 65 percent of American small arms ammunition production for World War I, the company was acquired by the owner of Winchester Repeating Arms; and the Lowell factory closed as manufacturing shifted to New Haven, Connecticut.

American Powder Mills (1883-1929) was a Massachusetts gunpowder manufacturing complex on the Assabet River. It expanded to include forty buildings along both sides of the river in the towns of Acton, Concord, Maynard, and Sudbury. Press mills, kernelling mills, glazing mills, and storehouses were dispersed over four-hundred acres to minimize damage during explosions. A narrow gauge railway transferred raw materials and products between the buildings.

Miami Powder Company operated a gunpowder manufacturing complex on the Little Miami River at Goes Station, Ohio from 1855 to 1925. Willows growing along the banks of the Little Miami River provided the charcoal required for gunpowder. Production was approximately 75 percent rifle powder and 25 percent blasting powder.

Poudrerie nationale de Vonges

The Poudrerie nationale de Vonges is a French powder mill established in 1691 in Vonges, Côte-d'Or. It manufactured explosives for use in quarries, mines and fireworks. During World War I (1914–18) it manufactured munitions. It expanded after the war, producing explosives for civil use. During World War II (1939–45) production was scaled back drastically, but expanded again after the war. The powder mill was fully privatized in 2008.

The Giant Powder Company was an explosives manufacturing company which operated from the mid 19th century through the first half of the 20th century, located in the San Francisco Bay Area of California. The Giant Powder Company was the first company in the United States to produce dynamite under an exclusive license from Alfred Nobel.

The Preble Box Toe Company explosion occurred on November 8, 1928, at the company's factory in Lynn, Massachusetts. Eleven people were killed in the blast and resulting fires and another nine later died from their injuries, making it the deadliest explosion to occur in Greater Boston.

Paramount Hotel explosion

The Paramount Hotel explosion occurred on January 28, 1966, in Boston. A series of explosions under the hotel and resulting fires killed 11 people.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Like Gun's Flash.: One Upheaval Follows Another, Leveling Persons and Buildings --Settlement of Wigginville All But Wiped Out". The Boston Daily Globe. July 30, 1903.
  2. ↑ Thomas, Matthew (2013). Historic Powder Houses of New England. History Press.
  3. ↑ "Makes 22 Lives Lost". The Boston Daily Globe. September 25, 1903.
  4. ↑ "Two Inquests are Probable". The Boston Daily Globe. August 1, 1903.
  5. ↑ "For Halloway's Death.: Judge Hadley Holds Foreman Goodwin Responsible". The Boston Daily Globe. October 3, 1903.
  6. ↑ "Settled Out of Court". The Boston Daily Globe. February 17, 1904.
  7. ↑ "Powder Mills Liable". The Boston Daily Globe. October 20, 1905.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.