Tuesday, August 16, 2022

True Life Tuesday: The Great Molasses Flood

I think that this maybe one of the stranger stories I have heard. We need to remember that while it is a weird one many people lost their lives or were injured in this event.

The Great Molasses Flood occurred on January 15, 1919 at around 12:30pm in the North End neighborhood of Boston. A tank containing 23 million gallons of molasses burst. The flood of 13,000 short tons rushed through the streets at 35MPH. People reported feeling the ground shake and hearing a roar when the tank collapsed. At its peak the wave was 25 feet high and flooded several blocks to depths of 2-3 feet. During the event a truck was picked up by the wave and hurled into Boston Harbor. It also caused damage to the Boston Elevated Railway and the tip of a street car was knocked off the track. 

The flood led to the deaths of 21 people and injuries to 150 more. Once the molasses hit the colder temperatures it became more viscous trapping people under the wave. The first responders to the scene were 116 cadets from the USS Nantucket training ship with the Massachusetts Nautical School. Eventually the Boston police department, Red Cross, Army and Navy joined in the efforts. The search for survivors was called off after 4 days. Crews used salt water and sand to clean up the area. Molasses was tracked everywhere and reports were that "everything a Bostonian touched was sticky". For decades after the flood people claimed that the area smelled like molasses on hot days. 

A lawsuit was brought against the US Industrial Alcohol Company who owned the tank by 119 residents. This was one of the first class action lawsuits in the state. The company claimed that the tank was blown up by anarchists but there was never proof of this claim found. The company was found liable for $628,000 or $9.82 million today. The incident led to many laws and regulations governing construction to be changed. This included requiring oversight by a licensed architect and civil engineer.

The tank was never rebuilt. Today the area is a city owned recreational complex. There is a plaque memorializing the flood at the entrance to the park. There was also a public memorial service held on the 100th anniversary in 2019. 


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