The Pemberton Mill was a large

textile Textile is an Hyponymy and hypernymy, umbrella term that includes various Fiber, fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, Staple (textiles)#Filament fiber, filaments, Thread (yarn), threads, and different types of #Fabric, fabric. ...

factory A factory, manufacturing plant or production plant is an industrial facility, often a complex consisting of several buildings filled with machinery, where workers manufacture items or operate machines which process each item into another. Th ...

Lawrence Lawrence may refer to: Education Colleges and universities * Lawrence Technological University, a university in Southfield, Michigan, United States * Lawrence University, a liberal arts university in Appleton, Wisconsin, United States Preparator ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

, originally built in 1853. On January 10, 1860, at around 4:30 p.m., a section of the building suddenly collapsed, trapping several hundred workers underneath the rubble, in what has been called "the worst

industrial accident A work accident, workplace accident, occupational accident, or accident at work is a "discrete occurrence in the course of work" leading to physical or mental occupational injury. According to the International Labour Organization (ILO), more th ...

in Massachusetts history" and "one of the worst industrial calamities in American history." Of the hundreds crushed under the wreckage, an estimated 88 to 145 of them were killed instantly, and 166 were removed, albeit critically injured. Following the incident, as

search-and-rescue Search and rescue (SAR) is the search for and provision of aid to people who are in distress or imminent danger. The general field of search and rescue includes many specialty sub-fields, typically determined by the type of terrain the search ...

efforts continued in an effort to locate survivors or bodies, a volunteer's handheld

oil lamp An oil lamp is a lamp used to produce light continuously for a period of time using an oil-based fuel source. The use of oil lamps began thousands of years ago and continues to this day, although their use is less common in modern times. The ...

was accidentally knocked, spilling its burning oil onto the wreckage; a massive fire soon enveloped the site, preventing the rescue of many potential survivors. The blaze spread quickly, due to the mill containing a large amount of

lumber Lumber is wood that has been processed into uniform and useful sizes (dimensional lumber), including beams and planks or boards. Lumber is mainly used for construction framing, as well as finishing (floors, wall panels, window frames). ...

, as well as chemical-laden machinery and the large amounts of

cotton Cotton (), first recorded in ancient India, is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus '' Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure ...

denim Denim is a sturdy cotton warp-faced textile in which the weft passes under two or more Warp (weaving), warp threads. This twill weave produces a diagonal ribbing that distinguishes it from cotton duck. Denim, as it is recognized today, was f ...

flannel Flannel is a soft woven fabric, of varying fineness. Flannel was originally made from carded wool or worsted yarn, but is now often made from either wool, cotton, or synthetic fiber. Flannel is commonly used to make tartan clothing, blankets, ...

, and other flammable materials produced therein. Investigators attributed the disaster to substandard construction that was then drastically overloaded with second-floor equipment, all evident and preventable. The event was cited in improvements to industrial construction and workplace safety. The mill was soon rebuilt in place.

Background

The Pemberton Mill was built in 1853 as a five-story building long and wide. Its

chief engineer A chief engineer, commonly referred to as "Chief" or "ChEng", is the most senior licensed mariner (engine officer) of an engine department on a ship, typically a merchant ship, and holds overall leadership and the responsibility of that departmen ...

was Charles H. Bigelow. Its

construction Construction are processes involved in delivering buildings, infrastructure, industrial facilities, and associated activities through to the end of their life. It typically starts with planning, financing, and design that continues until the a ...

was financed by John A. Lowell and his brother-in-law J. Pickering Putnam at a cost of . This was called "a fortune for those times."The Pemberton Mill Disaster of 1860
/ref>
''New York Times'', January 21, 1860 During a financial panic in 1857, Lowell and Putnam sold the mill to George Howe and David Nevins, Sr. at a $350,000 loss. The new owners jammed more machinery into their factory attempting to boost its profits. The mill ran with great success, earning per year, and had 2,700 spindles and 700

loom A loom is a device used to weaving, weave cloth and tapestry. The basic purpose of any loom is to hold the Warp (weaving), warp threads under tension (mechanics), tension to facilitate the interweaving of the weft threads. The precise shape of ...

s in operation at the time of the disaster.The Working Ladies of Lowell
American Heritage MagazineGenealogical and Personal Memoirs Relating to the Families of Boston and Eastern Massachusetts

William Richard Cutter William Richard Cutter (August 17, 1847 – June 6, 1918) was an American historian, librarian, genealogist, and writer. Life Born in Woburn, Massachusetts, on August 17, 1847, he was the son of Dr. Benjamin Cutter and Mary Whittemore Cutter. ...

, Lewis historical publishing company, 1908

Collapse

Shortly before 5:00 p.m. on a Tuesday afternoon in 1860, workers in nearby factories watched with horror as the Pemberton Mill buckled and then collapsed with a mighty crash. According to later court testimony reported by ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', owner George Howe escaped as the structure was falling. Dozens were killed instantly and more than six hundred workers, many of them women and children, were trapped in the ruins. When the winter sun set, rescuers built

bonfire A bonfire is a large and controlled outdoor fire, used for waste disposal or as part of a religious feast, such as Saint John's Eve. Etymology The earliest attestations date to the late 15th century, with the Catholicon Anglicum spelling i ...

s to illuminate their efforts, revealing "faces crushed beyond recognition, open wounds in which the bones showed through a paste of dried blood, brick dust, and shredded clothing." Around 9:30 p.m., with many people still trapped in the wreck of the factory, someone accidentally knocked over an oil lantern. Flames raced across the cotton waste and splintered wood – some of it soaked with oil. One trapped man cut his own throat rather than be consumed by the approaching flames; he was rescued, but died from his other injuries. As the fire grew, rescuers, physicians, families of the trapped victims, and spectators were all driven back by the conflagration. The screams coming from the ruins were soon silenced, leaving rescuers to eventually discover only the burned, smoldering remains of "brick,

mortar Mortar may refer to: * Mortar (weapon), an indirect-fire infantry weapon * Mortar (masonry), a material used to fill the gaps between blocks and bind them together * Mortar and pestle, a tool pair used to crush or grind * Mortar, Bihar, a village i ...

and human bones ... promiscuously mingled." '' American Heritage'' magazine gives this account: The ''

Boston Almanac and Business Directory The ''Boston Almanac'' was an almanac and business directory in 19th century Boston, Massachusetts published by Samuel N. Dickinson. Its offices were destroyed in the Great Boston Fire of 1872.The Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe,'' also known locally as ''the Globe'', is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes. ''The Boston Globe'' is the oldest and largest daily new ...

'' describes the carnage more vividly:

Victims

Estimates of the number killed by the collapse and subsequent fire vary from 88 to 145. Most were recent

immigrants Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not usual residents or where they do not possess nationality in order to settle as permanent residents. Commuters, tourists, and other short- ...

, either Irish or Scots, many of them young women. Irish and Scots were the majority, and the casualty list is indicative of

New England New England is a region consisting of six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the ...

's labor force at that time. It includes

Yankee The term ''Yankee'' and its contracted form ''Yank'' have several interrelated meanings, all referring to people from the United States. Their various meanings depend on the context, and may refer to New Englanders, the Northeastern United Stat ...

s from Maine and New Hampshire, and immigrants from Germany and Switzerland. All the churches of Lawrence – Baptists, Catholic, Congregationalist, Episcopalian, Methodist, Presbyterian, Unitarian, and Universalist – had

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...

ioners to console after the disaster.

Aftermath

The disaster was determined to have been caused by a number of preventable factors. Ignoring already questionable load limits, extra

textile machinery Textile manufacturing or textile engineering is a major Textile industry, industry. It is largely based on the conversion of fibre into yarn, then yarn into fabric. These are then Dyeing, dyed or printed, fabricated into cloth which is then con ...

had been crowded into the upper floors of the factory. Investigators also discovered substandard construction. The brick walls were improperly mortared and supported. The

iron column The Iron Column (, ) was a Valencian anarchist militia column formed during the Spanish Civil War to fight against the military forces of the Nationalist Faction that had rebelled against the Second Spanish Republic. History The Iron Column ...

s supporting the floors were cheap and brittle but had been installed nonetheless. In the wake of the disaster, area

ministers Minister may refer to: * Minister (Christianity), a Christian cleric ** Minister (Catholic Church) * Minister (government), a member of government who heads a ministry (government department) ** Minister without portfolio, a member of government w ...

delivered "sermons on God's inscrutable wrath" but it was apparent that blame lay in the manner in which the factory was built and operated. The ''

Scientific American ''Scientific American'', informally abbreviated ''SciAm'' or sometimes ''SA'', is an American popular science magazine. Many scientists, including Albert Einstein and Nikola Tesla, have contributed articles to it, with more than 150 Nobel Pri ...

'' wrote, "...there is now no doubt that the fall of the building was owing to the most gross negligence and want of fidelity in casting the columns." The tragedy became a rallying point to improve

safety standards Safety standards are standards designed to ensure the safety of products, activities and processes, etc. Additional descriptive terms may help to clarify what hazards are being addressed, such as workplace safety standards (to keep workers safe), ...

in industrial workplaces. It also inspired the popular sketch "The Tenth of January" by author

Elizabeth Stuart Phelps Ward Elizabeth Stuart Phelps Ward (August 31, 1844January 28, 1911) was an early feminist American author and intellectual who challenged traditional Christian beliefs of the afterlife, challenged women's traditional roles in marriage and family, a ...

. David Nevins, Sr. bought out his partner and rebuilt the mill. After his death it passed to his sons, David Nevins, Jr. and Henry Cotton Nevins. In 1922, the rebuilt mill was one of the Lawrence mills temporarily shut down during the New England Textile Strike, which was sparked by an attempted wage cut.

References

Bibliography

* *{{cite book , last=Oickle , first=Alvin F. , title=Disaster in Lawrence: The Fall of the Pemberton Mill , location=Charleston, South Carolina , publisher=History Press , date=2008 , isbn=978-1-59629-506-3

External links

Tourlawrence
– a location-based documentary and interactive history trail about two sisters who worked in the Pemberton Mill in 1860. Collapsed buildings and structures in the United States Industrial accidents and incidents in the United States Disasters in Lawrence, Massachusetts 1860 disasters in the United States 1860 disestablishments in Massachusetts Buildings and structures in Lawrence, Massachusetts History of Essex County, Massachusetts Textile mills in the United States Buildings and structures demolished in 1860 1853 establishments in Massachusetts Industrial buildings completed in 1853 January 1860