Then, over the ensuing days, Boston experienced a mid-January warming spell. At the time, the temperatures hovered around zero degrees Fahrenheit. Smithsonian Magazine: "Without warning, molasses in January surged over Boston"Ī ship bearing molasses from another United States Industrial Alcohol subsidiary in Jamaica had arrived just a few days before and its contents had brought the tank to near capacity. In 1919, Boston's Purity tank could hold about two and a half million gallons of the stuff. The old triangle had long been broken by 1919, but New England still made (and makes) rum, as well as baked beans, and the molasses for both still came (and comes) north from the Caribbean and New Orleans. It was built to hold molasses, that old Colonial commodity that stirs school-day memories of the "triangle trade": slaves from Africa to the West Indies molasses from the West Indies to New England rum, made from the molasses, back across the Atlantic for a cargo of slaves. It had been built four years before by the Purity Distilling Company-massively constructed, with great curved steel sides and strong bottom plates set into a concrete base and pinned together with a stitching of rivets. ![]() On the water side of Commercial Street, opposite Copp's Hill, there stood in 1919 a giant storage tank. ![]() The Purity Distilling Company molasses tank towers over the building in the foreground. Now, with the war just over, countries re-building their arms stockpiles in the wake of the armistice had somewhat supplanted wartime demand, and despite an uncertain future for the industry, compounded by the threatened passage of the 18th amendment, life was good. Its alcohol had been in demand throughout World War I for the manufacture of munitions, bringing it war-profiteer-level cash flows. Some of the good results of the Boston Molasses Flood were improved engineering safety standards, such as the use of stamp plans (documenting changes during construction), architects authorizing all work, and more observation during theĬonstruction process.By early 1919 the United States Industrial Alcohol Company, and its subsidiary, the Purity Distilling Company in Boston, had had a pretty good run. 'high water mark' of the molasses is easily discernable upon the stone walls and steps of the park." The collapse of two houses on Commercial st, both wooden structures, is explained on the theory that when the sea of molasses flooded across the street with a rush, slapping against the stone wall of theĬopps Hill section of North End Park to a height of 15 feet, the cellars were flooded and the receding tide of molasses carried the buildings off their foundations and caused them to collapse. Intended to sustain a great lateral pressure. The JanuBoston Globe describes the initial investigation into the cause of the tank collapse: "The lack of evidence of an or the expansion of the lower stratas of the molasses has led the investigators toīelieve that the damage done to the Elevated structure on Commercial st was what would naturally be expected when a section of the steel tank weighing tons was swept against the upright pillars, designed to sustain an enormous weight, but not The tank's owner had claimed an anarchist had blown it up, which was It was unusual for such suits to be successful back then. A class action lawsuit was filed, and $628,000 was eventually awarded to the victims, a large sum at that time. The flood was tragic because many innocent people were killed, including a Boston firefighter who slowly drowned in the molasses, having been trapped in the debris in a nearby damagedįirehouse. The Boston Molasses Flood was historic for several reasons. (rivet strength was not checked as an example). The tank had been hastily constructed 3 years earlier, and proper design and construction standards were not followed ![]() A final batch of molasses for rum production arrived in November 1918-the ill-fated shipment. Plans were made by the tank owners to convert their East Cambridge plant from the production of rum over to ![]() Constitution in 1919, and molasses is used in the manufacture of rum. Prohibition of alcohol consumption was being amended to the U.S. This event became known as the Boston Molasses Flood. The tank was five stories high, and contained 2.3 million gallons of molasses. Value of all property destroyed was around $1,000,000. About twenty-one people were killed, and 150 people were injured. On January 15, 1919, a huge storage tank of molasses exploded without warning, and caused a wave of molasses and debris to travel down Commercial Street at 35 miles per hour. Home > Disasters Boston Molasses Flood, 1919
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