The Boston Molasses Flood 1919

Overview

History

The Boston Molasses Flood occurred on January 15^th, 1919 on Commercial Street in the North End of Boston, Massachusetts. Citizens heard loud bangs described as similar to the firing of a machine gun, which were the sounds of breaking rivets of steel of a molasses tank. This tank, located between the Charles River and Copp’s Hill and owned by The United States Industrial Alcohol (USIA), exploded. More than 7.5 million liters of molasses created a 40-foot wave that drowned Boston’s North End, taking down houses, lifting trains, and destroying Engine 31 firehouse. (96)  In total, the molasses or falling debris killed 21 people and injured 150 residents from the ages of 10-76.   (239)

Wreckage of the Flood on Commercial Stree

Red Cross Rescuers Rushing to Scene

Personal History

I am a long time Bostonian. I was raised early in my life on Prince Street, two blocks away from Commercial Street in the North End. I have walked down Commercial Street and followed the Freedom Trail countless times; yet, I have only heard of the Boston Molasses Flood once, while watching the History Channel.

First Hand Account

boom. I woke up.

At first, I had no idea what it was, especially after it followed with a loud
rumble. The rushing and crashing became closer....closer almost as if a herd of tractors was riding through Commercial Street towards my house. Screaming. It was a scream, a piercing scream that I will never forget.I ran to the window and looked down at the road, but saw nothing. On my left, a huge wave of dark thick liquid came barreling through picking up dogs, horses, carriage, cars all on the way towards my house. In the corner of my eye, I saw a person running from the carnage, but they were too slow as they were swallowed in the wave of brown.The thing I remember the most, was the sweet smell of molasses. It hit me; the Molasses Tank exploded. What could it be? I ran back to bed and hid under my covers thinking of how this could have happened.

Time after time, we wrote letters to the company about the leaking, but they never sent anyone to fix it.Instead, the tank would receive a new paint job.                             After a few minutes, the screaming died down and I returned to the window. I saw a fireman tredding through the thick goo, and placing ladders over the gathered molasses to try to save people. Sirens. I heard ambulance sirens, but they were unable to get close to the scene. I looked to the source of the molasses to validate that it was in fact from the tank, and all I saw was a trail of steel, rubble, wood, and wreckage. Buildings were destroyed, cars turned over, and people like myself sticking their heads out the window. I had to go back inside, the smell. the smell was too much.

Boston Molasses Plaque

I went back to the North End in October and I searched for any monuments of the Boston Molasses Flood, but found only one small plaque imbedded in a stone wall: “On January 15, 1919, a molasses tank at 529 Commercial Street exploded under pressure, killing 21 people. A 40-foot wave of molasses buckled the elevated railroad tracks, crushed buildings and inundated the neighborhood. Structural defects in the tank combined with unseasonably warm temperatures contributed to the disaster”. I was not surprised by the single-existing plaque, but of its actual size and location. The plaque is located about a foot off the ground in the middle of a stone wall, which surrounds the Harborwalk. The Harborwalk is not a tourist site, nor is it the site of the Boston Molasses Flood. This plaque is hidden, inaccessible; I wanted to know why the Boston Molasses Flood was hidden in a city that prides itself on its history.  In order to understand this anomaly, I began with an evaluation of the reference marker itself. While it alluded to the structural defects of the tank, there is no mention of the cultural and political factors of the time period that may have set the flood in motion before the actual tank gave way. It piqued my curiosity. What sent a deadly molasses wave down a main street in Boston? 

Plaque, Bostonian Society

Can you spot the plaque?

Cause of Flood

Anarchist Terrorist Attack

Convicted Italian Anarchists in the North End

Immediately after the tank exploded, the company labeled the explosion an anarchist

terrorist attack undertaken as an act of protest against the government.   This was a plausible claim because of the recent anarchist threats in the North End. On November 18, 1916, anarchists bombed the North End police station. Then, only five days before the flood, police discovered anti-government posters plastered in the North End and warned businessmen about possible anarchist attacks.  Underlying this fear were stereotypes attributed to the Italian population that inhabited the neighborhood.  Italian immigrants were labeled as anarchists because they escaped political turmoil in Italy and, many convicted anarchists were of Italian descent. Lastly, the company supported this theory by claiming the tank was a perfect target for an anti-government act as molasses was the main ingredient in ammunition to supply WWI  Walter L. Wedger, the Massachusetts District Police expert on explosions stated his opinion to The Boston Daily Globe: “I am strongly inclined to the belief that there was an explosion”.

Rioting Italian Anarchists in the North End

   The USIA was quick to point the finger, and

there were many coincidences, which supported their theory; yet it remained a theory, as there was no found evidence. There were no remnants of an explosive device nor any group nor person taking credit for this event.  The idea of a ghost anarchist was quickly shot down as it was mentioned sarcastically in court: “a mythical anarchist climbing at high noon up the side of a fifty-foot tank, in the heart of a busy city, with hundreds of people about…. dropping in the manhole a mythical bomb after lighting the fused, and then disappearing down the side of the tank in perfects peace and safely”. (218) The USIA anarchist theory lacked of evidence and did not continue into the courtroom setting.

Upcoming Prohibition

With the cause of the explosion unsettled, there ensued an investigation on how the company managed their tank, which led to a startling discovery. At the time, the 2 million liter tank was holding 2.3 million liters of molasses. Nearby residents had reported molasses leaking from the tank. In response, the company sent workers to paint over the visible spots with brown paint so the leaking would be less noticeable. No attempts were made to fix the leak or

lessen the amount in the holding tank.

 The company exceeded

the tank’s limits and put people in danger, but why would they take an enormous risk? The answer is printed on the front page of the January 16^th 1919 of both the Boston Herald (Volume: CXLV, No: 16) and the Boston Post. corner there is a similar national announcement regarding alcohol: “35 States on Dry List” and “Prohibition Will Be Ratified Today By State Needed”.   At the time, there was strong political support for the temperance movement, and the state governments were in motion to approve prohibition, the ban on all alcohol.  Molasses, however, was used to make rum. Therefore, the United States Industrial Alcohol wanted to produce as much rum as they could before the ban took effect, which happened to be 3 days after the tank exploded. 

Charles Spoffor and Colonel Ogden Investigations

Charles Spoffor

USIA, under fire as news spread about the incompetence in the management of the tank and the anarchists theory failed to ignite, switched gears completely.  It attempted to explain the explosion was a result of hot temperatures and natural fermentation that created overwhelming pressure causing the tank to explode. While these may have been contributing factors, it was determined that the main cause of the explosion was the insufficient construction of the tank by the company, USIA.  The city of Boston called for an investigation and hired Charles Spoffor, the Civil Engineering Department Head at MIT, to spearhead the investigation. He concluded that the explosion was not due to a detonated bomb but a lack of stability in the construction of the tank.  Spoffor found that the steel plates were thinner than the original plans had called for and could not withstand the pressure of the molasses.  With no inspections ever made and no improvements undertaken, the tank was a recipe for disaster. Colonel Ogden, a Boston attorney, pursued Spoffor’s findings and discovered that the company had not consulted with engineers on the original plans and had entrusted the project to a man with no engineering or construction experience. 

Court Room Interrogation of Arthur P. Jell

This was evident in the recorded courtroom interrogation with Arthur P. Jell, the Treasurer of the USIA who oversaw the construction of the tank.

“Hall, lead attorney: ‘Well, now, Mr.
Jell, an any time before December 13, 1915 [when the tank was completed], and
he date when this catastrophe occurred, did you have any architect or engineer,
or any person familiar with steel construction, inspect the tank?’

Jell: ‘No’

Hall: ‘Do you know of any
such inspection having been made by any such persons?’

Hall: ‘Do you know of
any engineer employed by the company of any architect, or expert in steel
construction by USIA, of you own knowledge, who ever visited the tank prio to
the disaster?’

Jell: ‘Not to my
knowledge.’” (204) 

Ogden stated, “The molasses tank had been structurally deficient, built without safeguards, and carelessly located in a busy, congested neighborhood”. (165) After years of investigations and trials, the USIA was found responsible and was required to pay the modern equivalent of several million dollars in settlements.

Boston Molasses Not Mentioned in History Books

Dark Time: Racism and Discrimination

Living Conditions for Immigrants in the North End

The Boston Molasses Flood facts are clear-cut: the flood was caused by the incompetency of USIA and killed 21 people. Therefore, why is an unusual event of such magnitude still a small asterisk in the rich history of the North End? The flood story is buried because it occurred during a dark time in Boston’s history when discrimination was prevalent. The flood affected unimportant immigrants, who were taken advantage of by USIA, was overshadowed by other national issues, and the actual peculiarity and whimsically strange circumstances blocked all memory of its actual tragedy.During the early twentieth century, the North End was making a huge transition from housing Boston’s elite to housing newly immigrated European immigrants especially from Italy. Specifically, from 1910-1920 the Italian population in the North End grew from 18,000 to 77,000. These Italians worked as unskilled workers for poor wage, refused to participate in politics, and were not trusted because of their clannish ways and choice to live in secrecy. The USIA took advantage of their wariness of government and lack of credibility by constructing the molasses tank in the middle of their neighborhood, and then slacked off on the maintenance. The company assumed that the Italians would show no resistance or report a problem.  They “expected and received virtually no opposition—the poor, vilified, mostly illiterat, and politically toothless Italian immigrants who lived and worked in the shadow of the tank day and night had neither the inclination nor the political power to offer organized resistance.” The company was correct in this theory because as the tank leaked, there were no major reports or warnings from authorities. Just like the ordinary residents who were affected on a daily basis, the people who were killed were messengers, pavers, and laborers in the North End Paving Yard, immigrants, or children of immigrants.  This point of relevancy continues with the prevalent discrimination against the Italians during this time. Not only were many of the deceased from the neighborhood and of Italian descent but the company tried to avoid liability by accusing Italian anarchists.  (239) 

Not National News

To finalize its reason for elusiveness, the Boston Molasses Flood was not a national issue. There are articles in newspapers like the Kansas Star about the event; yet the discussion of molasses ripping through a dirty and run-down part of a city was and still is not taken seriously. First reactions to this event include a slight laugh, followed by a question of validity.   National issues like immigration; World War I and Prohibition were much larger and took the center stage.

Conclusion

After solving this mystery, I reverted to my original investigation: What really set the molasses flood in motion? Prohibition pressured the company to hold molasses before the ban, and immigrants remained silent bystanders in the midst of corruptness; yet, the main culprit was negligence on the part of United States Industry Alcohol. Unfortunately, insufficient construction lacks dramatic appeal and, over time, gets eclipsed by larger catastrophes.  While the last trace of the flood remains in a theory, what is not uncertain is the faint odor of molasses on a sticky summer afternoon.

The Big Commemeration: An Article By Sofie Mae Niziak

The North End of Boston is famous for its historical attractions, including The Old North Church and Paul Revere's House. The sidewalks are paved with bright red bricks of the Freedom Trail which millions of people follow each year to these destinations. Not far from the trail is the Harbor Walk enclosed by a newly constructed wall of stone that is embedded with a small green plaque. If a wandering tourist decides to stray from the paved side-walk, crouch down to meet the oddly placed sign, and squint to read its small white lettering, they would be surprised to discover the single existing monument to one of the greatest disasters in Boston’s history, The Boston Molasses Flood. The plaque reads, “On January 15, 1919, a molasses tank at 529 Commercial Street exploded under pressure, killing 21 people. A 40-foot wave of molasses buckled the elevated railroad tracks, crushed buildings and inundated the neighborhood. Structural defects in the tank combined with unseasonably warm temperatures contributed to the disaster”. Unlike the photograph of the event, published in the Boston Globe, this official plaque does not accurately represent the magnitude of the event, does not accurately place blame, and is strategically hidden from the general public.

This plaque is the only existing evidence of the Boston Molasses Flood besides the faint smell of molasses on a hot summer day. Surprisingly, the vague monument contains no pictures, artifacts or testimonies of such event. Boston’s historical organizations or city run tourist groups like the Freedom Trail or the Duck Tour do not include any information of the Boston Molasses Flood. The only reputable source of a photograph came from Boston Globe. This picture accurately provides a glimpse of the event with debris, metal and molasses covering the streets. In the top left, there is a damaged bridge on top of a collapsed building, which people in the picture are rushing towards. On the right hand side, there is an empty ambulance, representing the 21 people who were killed by the molasses. Although the North End housed many immigrants at the time, there are no houses seen in the picture, hinting at the North End’s current industrialized state. Unlike the picture, the plaque does not accurately described the actual destruction like the complete collapse of the North End’s main Firehouse or tbe complete chaos of people frantically trying to save people from being crushed by debris while also struggling to move in the flood of molasses. Therefore, this plaque was created to inform people of this historical event; yet, it does not accurately inform the reader of the extensive damage or cultural chaos during that time and does not contain a single testimony of the event. Even though it was approved by the city of Boston, this plaque is too vague in its description.

On the bottom right hand corner of the plaque, there is a small emblem followed by “Bostonian Society”, a non-profit organization founded in 1881 to preserve Boston’s unique history.[1] On their website, there is a given location to find this plaque on Commercial Street and a small paragraph to describe the event. This website also contains a membership page which lists the society’s generous supporters including well-known companies and national organizations like Boston Duck Tours, John Hancock, Ameritech, National Park Service and Citizen Bank. The organization takes credit for the plaque and therefore it also represents the companies which allows the society to remain a running organization. Due to this financial obligation, the society must remain neutral by avoiding distribution of blame, especially when the flood was caused by incompetence by The United States Industrial Alcohol (USIA), a nationally owned company. The plaque states: “Structural defects in the tank combined with unseasonably warm temperatures contributed to the disaster”. In reality, at the time, the 2-million gallon tank was holding 2.3 million gallons of molasses. Also, the company had not consulted with engineers on the original plans and had entrusted the project to a man with no engineering or construction experience. Lastly, there was a lack of maintenance and the company even painted over the tank with a dark color to hide leaking cracks when residents reported the tank was leaking. The organization is a non-profit and supported by many national companies, and national organizations so it could not make an offensive statement that places the blame of 21 deaths on the government. Especially with many people claiming their membership to a society that is to preserve and celebrate Boston’s history, not patronize it.

Finally, the odd placement of the plaque represents the society’s attempt to hide the event from a passing visitor. It is located waist high in a stone wall, and placed far from the paved path. Also, it is not part of the freedom trail, listed on the freedom trail’s website, nor mentioned as a site which is only “Steps off the Trail”, even though it is only a street away from Paul Revere’s house.² Instead, its printer-paper size represents how much Boston wants to include the Boston Molasses Flood in its history. This answers why I did not know about the Boston Molasses Flood, even though I grew up only a few streets from Commercial Street.

The actual picture of the event, taken with simple photographic technology contains no words or dates; yet, it does a much better job at representing the magnitude of the situation than does the actual monument. The photograph goes above and beyond by hinting at the North End’s corrupt industrialized state and social chaos. First, one may see a colasul bridge for trains, and large industrialized structures in the back. During the early twentieth century, the North End was making a huge transition from housing Boston’s elite to housing newly immigrated European immigrants especially from Italy. Therefore, the majority of the population was poor, unskilled, illiterate workers who avoided participation in American politics. This is completely opposite from the North End’s current culturally vibrant and celebrated Italian heritage.

If you look at the photograph, one may discover the location of the tank, on one of the busiest streets in the North End. The USIA took advantage of the North End’s poverty by constructing a tank and obtaining workers at minimum wage. They also took advantage of the immigrants’ wariness of government and their lack of credibility by constructing the molasses tank on Commercial Street, where many immigrants lived, knowing they would receive no resistance. Past reports reveal that many residents complained of the tank leaking; yet, the company again took advantage of the immigrants untrustworthy reputation by choosing to ignore their complaints and failing to keeping up with proper maintenance of the tank. When the explosion actually occurred, the company avoided liability as much as they could. The Italian immigrants were affected the most so no one really paid attention, especially because this was a dark time of discrimination and racism. Overall, the company was held responsible and silently handed out payments for the 21 deaths and many structural damages. As shown, the North End was a mess and the picture accurately demonstrates the disaster as well as a time in history that the North End does not want to commemorate.

  

"Prohibition Will Be Ratified Today By State Needed

'Molasses Disaster- Boston Herald Cover. Digital image. NorthEndWaterfrontcom. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Oct. 2014.

This front page was published in the local newspaper, The Boston Herald, on January 16, 1919, which was a day after the Boston Molasses Disaster. This specific article was written to inform the details of the flood including statements from victims and witnesses to the actual explosion of the tank in order to get a better understanding of its cause. In order to drag the reader into reading more, there is an included picture of firemen trying to lift a large piece of debris which serves as visual dramatics.

There are two elements to this front page that are easily missed, but they each provide a certain cultural or political clue to the given time period. At the bottom of the article there is a big advertisement “Explosion and Liability Insurance”. After seeing the picture or reading the article, a reader might continue to skim down the page and stumble upon this ad. After reading about the Boston Molasses Flood tragedy, the reader may contact the ad; therefore, it is a perfect format. This is important to the case about taking action of safety in liability instead of pre-disaster precautions. Right below the Headline “11 DEAD, MORE THAN 60 INJURED…”, there is an article about upcoming Prohibition: “Prohibition Will Be Ratified Today By State Needed”. This push for a ban on all alcohol connects to why the USIA was trying to store as much molasses as they could; production of molasses leads to production of alcohol. Also, this articles location on the front cover emphasizes its importance as national news. Therefore, this ongoing debate could have overshadowed the Boston Molasses Flood.  

A newspaper is a reliable source for first-hand accounts, but it may exaggerate an event, introduce a theory, or raise questions or concerns to stir the pot. This newspaper article has a bold title, “11 DEAD” to emphasize tragedy. Also, the writers, publishers, and editors of a newspaper decide what is published. Therefore, they may skew the article by cutting out a certain statement or opinion.

Analyze Sources

Secondary Sources:

I.         Puleo, Stephen. The Boston Italians: A Story of Pride, Perseverance, and Paesani, from the Years of the Great Immigration to the Present Day. Boston: Beacon Press, 2007.

This book focuses on the Italian immigrant experience in the North End and why so many chose to settle in that part of downtown: a multitude of jobs for unskilled workers. This book addresses the great struggles and discrimination that the immigrants faced everyday as well as a section on anarchists. Puleo, also author of   Dark Tide: The Great Boston Molasses Flood of 1919, focuses on the rarely told history of the Italian immigrants in the North End and constant daily struggles that is just as important to the history of the North End as anything else. Overall, this book provides great insight on the political, economic and social struggles that the Italians faced while living in the North End and it has an entire chapter on anarchist stereotypes related to Italians.

II.         DeMarco, William M. Ethnics and Enclaves: Boston's Italian North End. Ann Arbor, Mich.: UMI Research Press, 1981.

This book was written to compare the current celebrated Italian North End to its dark past when Italians were constantly discriminated. He addresses the overcrowded conditions, rate of disease, lack of adequate sanitation, and the violence between different Italian groups. He also examines statistical information about marriages, employment patterns and housing in order to understand the chain migration to the North End and why so many people stayed there. This is useful in understanding how and why so many Italians lived in the North End despite constant struggle.

III.         Stack, John F. International Conflict in an American City: Boston's Irish, Italians, and Jews, 1935-1944. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 1979.

This book focuses on ethnic groups, their involvement in politics, and their structural dynamos like political and social environment. This is useful to understand why the Italian immigrants were not involved in politics and how that affected them. One limitation is the book also addresses the Irish and Jews and part of the book focuses on the 1930’s and 40’s.

IV.         Ferraiuolo, Augusto. Religious Festive Practices in Boston's North End Ephemeral Identities in an Italian American Community. Albany: State University of New York Press, 2009.

This book primarily focuses on the religious celebrations and traditions of the Italians in the North End. Fortunately, for each celebration the author mentions how the celebration declares communities and their identities and how their separation created political turmoil. He also addresses the transition of the North End transitioned from a wealthy desirable area to a slum.

V.         Puleo, Stephen. Dark Tide: The Great Boston Molasses Flood of 1919. Boston, Mass: Beacon Press, 2003.

This book is the first full account of the Boston Molasses Flood as it addresses not only the exact day of the tank explosion, but the decade that led up to the event. It is useful because it addresses other social events during the time like Prohibition, Italian heritage, and why the Boston Molasses Flood “never attained historical significance”.

Humphreys, Ashlee. "Branding Disaster: Reestablishing Trust through the Ideological Containment of Systemic Risk Anxieties." Journal of Consumer Research (2014): 000. JSTOR. Web. 05 Dec. 2014.

This article was published in the Journal of Consumer Research to analyze consumer trust before and after a disaster, and how the company tries to gain back the trust. This gives great insight into how the company tries to evade the situation and who they might blame to regain the trust of the public.

Primary Sources

I.               Molasses Disaster- Boston Herald Cover. Digital image. NorthEndWaterfrontcom. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Oct. 2014.

This was written on January 16, 1919, which was a day after the Boston Molasses Disaster so it is a primary source as it includes information from people who were there and experienced the actual explosion. Also, at the bottom of the article there is a big advertisement “Explosion and Liability Insurance”. This is important to the case about taking action of safety in liability instead of pre-disaster precautions. A newspaper may sometimes focus on the most interesting parts of an event and raise questions or concerns to stir the pot. This newspaper article with its bold is captivating and as a reader may continue to read, they might get too entangled with rumors of causes of the explosion.

II.             “Wise Court-He Explains Cause of Fatal Explosion.” Pueblo Chieftain, February 8, 1919.

This article provides the reason for the tank explosion, which was announced by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. This provides the date in which the investigators and court finally discovered the failure of structure and were able to determine the cause and blame the company. It also has a direct quote from the Chief Justice.

III.           "Huge Molasses Tank Explodes in the North End; 11 Dead, 50 Hurt." The Boston Post, January 16, 1919.

This article is the immediate reaction after the tank and it is clearly early on as its numbers are not accurate. Also, it is helpful in determining the stage of prohibiton, as there is an article underneath with the title: “35 States On the Dry List”. On the other hand, it does not contain a lot of hard evidence about the incidence, just theories.  

IV.           12 Killed, 50 Injured When Molasses Tank Explodes in Boston Reservoir's Top Flies in Air. (1919, January 16). Philadelphia Inquirer, p. 1. Retrieved October 10, 2014.Origin: This article was published by the Philadelphia Inquirer on January 16, 1919.

This article provides exact details of which buildings were affected, who was injured, details about specific first-hand accounts, where the most amount of people were injured, and contains specific stories which is not found in any other newspaper which has the event outside of Boston.

V.             Boston Molasses Flood Sign. Digital image. Boston Discovery Guide. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Oct. 2014.

This is the sign I visited in the North End that is embedded into a wall and easy to miss. It does not accurately describe the event or go into any detail of the event. This is important to note because it represents its historical significance.

See Also

North End Boston

Freedom Trail

Anarchy in Italy