Category
Textual or Investigative
Description
On January 15, 1919, Boston’s North End was struck with a tragedy unlike anything its residents could have imagined. A wave of molasses ranging from 15 to 40 feet high washed across several blocks, destroying everything in its path. This Great Molasses Flood, caused by the collapse of a molasses tank made three years earlier by United States Industrial Alcohol, had devastating consequences. In its wake, it left twenty-one people dead and many more injured. Yet strangely enough, very few people know about it today. This project aims to introduce the event to those who are unfamiliar with it and draw together the scattered pieces of information that exist on the topic. It makes use of primary sources such as newspapers, death certificates, and quotes from the ensuing trial, as well as research from Stephen Puleo’s Dark Tide (the only non-fiction book written entirely on this subject to date) and other sources. Through this research, it is made clear that the Great Molasses Flood was a tragic, avoidable event with far-reaching consequences. The failure of a company to prioritize safety over profit led to twenty-one deaths, several city blocks destroyed, and families all around Boston devastated. The court case afterwards, however, eventually helped spur the institution of safety codes and regulations that still affect construction and engineering today, such as licenses for engineers and stricter requirements for building plans.
A Preventable Tragedy: Taking a Look at the Great Molasses Flood in Boston, 1919 and its Effect on the United States
Textual or Investigative
On January 15, 1919, Boston’s North End was struck with a tragedy unlike anything its residents could have imagined. A wave of molasses ranging from 15 to 40 feet high washed across several blocks, destroying everything in its path. This Great Molasses Flood, caused by the collapse of a molasses tank made three years earlier by United States Industrial Alcohol, had devastating consequences. In its wake, it left twenty-one people dead and many more injured. Yet strangely enough, very few people know about it today. This project aims to introduce the event to those who are unfamiliar with it and draw together the scattered pieces of information that exist on the topic. It makes use of primary sources such as newspapers, death certificates, and quotes from the ensuing trial, as well as research from Stephen Puleo’s Dark Tide (the only non-fiction book written entirely on this subject to date) and other sources. Through this research, it is made clear that the Great Molasses Flood was a tragic, avoidable event with far-reaching consequences. The failure of a company to prioritize safety over profit led to twenty-one deaths, several city blocks destroyed, and families all around Boston devastated. The court case afterwards, however, eventually helped spur the institution of safety codes and regulations that still affect construction and engineering today, such as licenses for engineers and stricter requirements for building plans.
