Great Mill Disaster

Coordinates: 44°58′45″N 93°15′24″W / 44.97917°N 93.25667°W / 44.97917; -93.25667
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Great Mill Disaster
industrial disaster
Deaths18

The Great Mill Disaster, also known as the Washburn A Mill explosion, occurred on May 2, 1878, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. The disaster resulted in 18 deaths. The explosion occurred on a Thursday evening when an accumulation of flour dust inside the Washburn A Mill, the largest mill in the world at the time, led to a dust explosion that killed the fourteen workers inside the mill. The resulting fire destroyed several nearby mills and killed a further four millworkers. The destruction seriously impacted the city's productive capacity for flour, which was a major industry in the city. Following the blast, Cadwallader C. Washburn, the mill's owner, had a new mill, designed by William de la Barre, constructed on the site of the old one. This building was also later destroyed, and today the building's ruins are a National Historic Landmark and operated as part of the Mill City Museum.

Background

In 1874, businessman

flour mill in the world.[1] With about 200 employees in 1878, it was also one of the city's largest employers.[1] The mill was located adjacent to several other flour mills along the Mississippi River near the Saint Anthony Falls, where it derived its power from a canal that flowed through the building's lower level.[1] At this time, Minneapolis was a hub of flour production in the United States, having recently surpassed other cities such as St. Louis and Buffalo, New York, in terms of flour productive capacity,[1] with the city popularly referred to as Flour City.[2]

Explosion

At about 6 p.m. on May 2, 1878, the mill's large

Minneapolis Tribune reported on the disaster, saying, "Minneapolis has met with a calamity, the suddenness and horror of which it is difficult for the mind to comprehend".[1] In total, six mills were destroyed.[2][4]

Aftermath

As part of an investigation into the cause of the disaster, mill manager John A. Christian stated that it had been a

millstones had rubbed against each other and caused a spark that ignited the dust, causing the explosion.[1]

"This mill was erected in the year 1879, on the site of Washburn Mill "A," which was totally destroyed on the second day of May, 1878, by fire and a terrific explosion occasioned by the rapid combustion of flour dust. Not one stone was left upon another, and every person engaged in the mill instantly lost his life."

-Inscription on a memorial marker erected at the new mill.[4]

Following the event, there were concerns about the effect it would have on the city's milling industry, as the disaster had destroyed roughly one-third to one-half of the city's flour productive capacity.

Gold Medal Flour mill)[2] was affected by a fire in 1928,[5] but following repairs it continued to operate until 1965.[1] The building was later abandoned and finally destroyed in a fire in 1991.[1] In 2003, the building's ruins were converted into the Mill City Museum, a history museum that focuses on the milling history of the city.[1] Today, the ruins are listed on the National Register of Historic Places as a National Historic Landmark.[5]

The

Twin Cities area.[6]

Memorials

Memorial in Lakewood Cemetery

On the site of the destroyed mill, a stone memorial marker that lists the names of the 14 workers who died at the previous factory was erected as part of a stone portal.[4] The memorial also includes a brief history of the disaster.[4] Today, it is located near the Stone Arch Bridge.[4] In the city's Lakewood Cemetery, a memorial dedicated to the 18 people who died in the disaster was erected in 1885. The memorial includes a plaque that lists the names of the deceased, while the base of the memorial depicts a sheaf of wheat, a broken gear, and a millstone.[1]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Sources disagree on the economic impact of the disaster, with the reduction in productive capacity being given as either one-third[4] or one-half.[5]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x Nathanson, Iric (July 9, 2021) [November 14, 2013]. "Washburn A Mill Explosion, 1878". MNopedia. Archived from the original on November 22, 2021. Retrieved March 15, 2022.
  2. ^
    Thuras, Dylan (January 14, 2013). "Mill City Museum and site of "The Great Mill Disaster"". Atlas Obscura. Archived
    from the original on December 16, 2021. Retrieved March 15, 2022.
  3. ^ "Deadliest Workplace Accidents". PBS. 2011. Archived from the original on January 5, 2022. Retrieved March 15, 2022.
  4. ^ a b c d e f Brandt, Steve (September 21, 2011). "What the 35W bridge memorial doesn't say". Star Tribune. Archived from the original on March 15, 2022. Retrieved March 15, 2022.
  5. ^ a b c d e "Building History". Minnesota Historical Society. Archived from the original on March 7, 2022. Retrieved March 15, 2022.
  6. ^ a b "The explosion that changed milling". General Mills. May 2, 2012. Archived from the original on March 3, 2022. Retrieved March 15, 2022.

Further reading

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