Great Mill Disaster
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The Great Mill Disaster, also known as the Washburn A Mill explosion, occurred on May 2, 1878, in
Minneapolis Minneapolis is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 429,954 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the state's List of cities in Minnesota, most populous city. Locat ...
, 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 A dust explosion is the rapid combustion of fine particles suspended in the air within an enclosed location. Dust explosions can occur where any dispersed powdered combustible material is present in high-enough concentrations in the atmosphere ...
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 Productive capacity is the maximum possible output (economics), output of an economy. According to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), no agreed-upon definition of maximum output exists. UNCTAD itself proposes: "the pr ...
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 A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a National Register of Historic Places property types, building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the Federal government of the United States, United States government f ...
and operated as part of the
Mill City Museum Mill City Museum is located in the ruins of the Washburn "A" Mill next to Mill Ruins Park on the banks of the Mississippi River in Minneapolis. The museum, an entity of the Minnesota Historical Society that opened in 2003, focuses on the foundi ...
.


Background

In 1874, businessman Cadwallader C. Washburn of
La Crosse, Wisconsin La Crosse ( ) is a city in La Crosse County, Wisconsin, United States, and its county seat. Positioned alongside the Mississippi River, La Crosse is the largest city on Wisconsin's western border. La Crosse's population was 52,680 as of the 202 ...
, opened the Washburn A Mill in
Minneapolis Minneapolis is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 429,954 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the state's List of cities in Minnesota, most populous city. Locat ...
. At the time of its opening, it was the largest industrial building in the city and the largest
flour mill A gristmill (also: grist mill, corn mill, flour mill, feed mill or feedmill) grinds cereal grain into flour and middlings. The term can refer to either the grinding mechanism or the building that holds it. Grist is grain that has been separat ...
in the world. With about 200 employees in 1878, it was also one of the city's largest employers. The mill was located adjacent to several other flour mills along the
Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the main stem, primary river of the largest drainage basin in the United States. It is the second-longest river in the United States, behind only the Missouri River, Missouri. From its traditional source of Lake Ita ...
near the
Saint Anthony Falls Saint Anthony Falls, or the Falls of Saint Anthony (), located at the northeastern edge of downtown Minneapolis, Minnesota, was the only natural major waterfall on the Mississippi River. Throughout the mid-to-late 1800s, various dams were built ...
, where it derived its power from a canal that flowed through the building's lower level. At this time, Minneapolis was a hub of flour production in the United States, having recently surpassed other cities such as
St. Louis St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a populatio ...
and
Buffalo, New York Buffalo is a Administrative divisions of New York (state), city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York and county seat of Erie County, New York, Erie County. It lies in Western New York at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of ...
, in terms of flour
productive capacity Productive capacity is the maximum possible output (economics), output of an economy. According to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), no agreed-upon definition of maximum output exists. UNCTAD itself proposes: "the pr ...
, with the city popularly referred to as Flour City.


Explosion

At about 6 p.m. on May 2, 1878, the mill's large day shift staff had completed their work for the day and the fourteen-man night shift staff had arrived. At around 7 p.m., three large explosions occurred within several seconds of each other inside the mill, killing the fourteen employees inside. The explosions launched debris several hundred feet into the air, with some large
granite Granite ( ) is a coarse-grained (phanerite, phaneritic) intrusive rock, intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly coo ...
debris found eight
city blocks A city block, residential block, urban block, or simply block is a central element of urban planning and urban design. In a city with a grid system, the block is the smallest group of buildings that is surrounded by streets. City blocks are th ...
from the mill. The sound of the explosion was heard as far away as
Saint Paul Paul, also named Saul of Tarsus, commonly known as Paul the Apostle and Saint Paul, was a Christian apostle ( AD) who spread the teachings of Jesus in the first-century world. For his contributions towards the New Testament, he is generally ...
, a distance of from the mill, while some people in Minneapolis who had felt the blast thought that it had been an earthquake. The explosion spawned a massive fire that spread to two adjacent mills, the Diamond and Humboldt mills, causing both of them to also explode and killing another four millworkers including mill owner Jack Reisman. The intensity of the heat from the blaze hindered firefighting activities, as firefighters could not get close to the buildings, and as a result they continued to fight the fire through the night. The following day, the ''
Minneapolis Tribune ''The Minnesota Star Tribune'', formerly the ''Minneapolis Star Tribune'', is an American daily newspaper based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. As of 2023, it is Minnesota's largest newspaper and the seventh-largest in the United States by circula ...
'' 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". In total, six mills were destroyed.


Aftermath

As part of an investigation into the cause of the disaster, mill manager John A. Christian stated that it had been a
dust explosion A dust explosion is the rapid combustion of fine particles suspended in the air within an enclosed location. Dust explosions can occur where any dispersed powdered combustible material is present in high-enough concentrations in the atmosphere ...
caused by flour dust in the building. Two professors from the
University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota Twin Cities (historically known as University of Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint ...
, S. F. Peckham and Louis W. Peck, later confirmed that abundant flour dust had been the cause of the explosion after reviewing
controlled experiments A scientific control is an experiment or observation designed to minimize the effects of variables other than the independent variable (i.e. confounding variables). This increases the reliability of the results, often through a comparison between ...
regarding flour dust combustion. They concluded that two dry millstones had rubbed against each other and caused a spark that ignited the dust, causing the explosion. 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. Shortly after the explosion, Washburn, who had traveled to Minneapolis upon hearing of the incident, announced his intention to rebuild the mill, with technological improvements that would make it safer and increase its productive capacity. Washburn hired
Austrian Austrian may refer to: * Austrians, someone from Austria or of Austrian descent ** Someone who is considered an Austrian citizen * Austrian German dialect * Something associated with the country Austria, for example: ** Austria-Hungary ** Austria ...
engineer William de la Barre to design the new building, which he based on a mill in
Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...
. De la Barre also installed
dust collector A dust collector is a system used to enhance the quality of air released from industrial and commercial processes by collecting dust particle and other impurities from air or gas. Designed to handle high-volume dust loads, a dust collector syste ...
s and improved ventilation systems. This new building was completed in 1880 on the site of the former building. The reopening coincided with an economic boom for the city, and flour production steadily increased until it peaked during
World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
, after which there was a steady industry decline. The new mill (later known as the Gold Medal Flour mill) was affected by a fire in 1928, but following repairs it continued to operate until 1965. The building was later abandoned and finally destroyed in a fire in 1991. In 2003, the building's ruins were converted into the
Mill City Museum Mill City Museum is located in the ruins of the Washburn "A" Mill next to Mill Ruins Park on the banks of the Mississippi River in Minneapolis. The museum, an entity of the Minnesota Historical Society that opened in 2003, focuses on the foundi ...
, a history museum that focuses on the milling history of the city. Today, the ruins are listed on the
National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...
as a
National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a National Register of Historic Places property types, building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the Federal government of the United States, United States government f ...
. The '' MNopedia'' entry for the disaster states, "It was the worst disaster of its type in the city's history, prompting major safety upgrades in future mill developments". According to
General Mills General Mills, Inc. is an American multinational corporation, multinational manufacturer and marketer of branded ultra-processed consumer foods sold through retail stores. Founded on the banks of the Mississippi River at Saint Anthony Falls in ...
(the eventual
successor company A successor company takes the business (products and services) of a previous company or companies, with the goal to maintain the continuity of the business. To this end, the employees, board of directors, location, equipment, and even product name m ...
of the mill), the disaster prompted Washburn to take an interest in the welfare of the children of the millworkers who had been affected, leading to the creation of the Washburn Memorial Orphan Asylum. Its successor organization, the Washburn Center for Children, continues to operate as a child and family services organization in the
Twin Cities Twin cities are a special case of two neighboring cities or urban centres that grow into a single conurbation – or narrowly separated urban areas – over time. There are no formal criteria, but twin cities are generally comparable in stat ...
area.


Memorials

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. The memorial also includes a brief history of the disaster. Today, it is located near the
Stone Arch Bridge An arch bridge is a bridge with abutments at each end shaped as a curved arch. Arch bridges work by transferring the weight of the bridge and its loads partially into a horizontal thrust restrained by the abutments at either side, and partiall ...
. In the city's
Lakewood Cemetery Lakewood Cemetery is a large private, non-sectarian, rural cemetery located in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. It is located at 3600 Hennepin Avenue at the southern end of the Uptown, Minneapolis, Uptown area. It is noted for its chapel ...
, 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 Sheaf may refer to: * Sheaf (agriculture), a bundle of harvested cereal stems * Sheaf (mathematics) In mathematics, a sheaf (: sheaves) is a tool for systematically tracking data (such as sets, abelian groups, rings) attached to the open s ...
of wheat, a broken gear, and a millstone.


See also

* Tradeston Flour Mills explosion – A similar dust explosion at a flour mill in Glasgow in 1872 * List of industrial disasters * List of industrial disasters by death toll


Notes


References


Further reading

* {{General Mills 1878 disasters in the United States 1878 in Minnesota 1878 industrial disasters Disasters in Minnesota Dust explosions Events in Minneapolis Explosions in 1878 Fires in Minnesota Food processing disasters History of Minneapolis Industrial fires and explosions in the United States Occupational safety and health