Explosion

DuPont Company Explosions

By mblunden10
  • Period: to

    Years of powder yard explosions documented by Francis Gurney du Pont

  • Upper Yard

    • Pounding Mill blown up
    • Nine men killed (Note: Exact date not known)
    "Pounding Mill blew up in Upper Yard. Nine men were killed. Mr. Alfred du Pont used to say that the men had a story that two girls appeared in the yard the night before the accident, and were pursued by two young men, who were employed in the pounding mill. They could not catch them and it was currently reported as a supernatural appearance to give warning of this impending catastrophe."

  • Upper Yard

    • Glazing Mill, Packing House, and Magazine destroyed
    • 33 men and 1 woman killed
    "A large building containing hogsheads of powder, stored since the contracts of 1812 for the fabrication of A.F. & Co., was exploded. The building had formerly been a cotton factory. 33 men and 1 woman were killed by this disaster. The woman lost her life while walking on the road with her baby in her arms, by a bullet from some condemned ammunition in the Magazine."

  • Mill

    "a note was made by Mr. A. Biderman: "Eagle Mill blown up, worked again on the 30th" and in a time book for 1824-25 a note is found on Jan 30, 1825 to the effect that Michael Culligan ought to receive "Potman's" wages for having run the Rolling Mill from Nov. 30 to date. Either the man who had run the mill had been killed or had gone away for fear of the explosion. As only Mills 1 & 2 were built at this time it shows that the Eagle was run in the Rolling Mill in preference to the Pounding Mill."

  • Upper Yard

    • Glazing Mill blown up
    "At that time there was a horse in use which was very intelligent and used to back the cart up to the door of the mill, while the men entered by another door. This was being done when the cart struck fire in some way and blew up the mill. Wm. Green the foreman was about entering the mill and the men were behind him. He was buried by the wall."

  • Upper Yard

    • Dry House, Dust Mill, and Pounding Mill explode
    "Mr. Dalmas was requested to go down in the evening to see if all was right. He was smoking, and leaned on the gate post at the Powder Yard gate to finish. While he was thus engaged, the Dry house blew up. As charcoal was kept in a shed at the end of the dry house, spontaneous combustion was supposed to be the cause of the explosion."

  • Mill

    • Rolling Mill 2
    "Rolling Mill No. 2 blew up at 5.00AM."

  • Mill

    "Dust Mill Hagley, Toy and Holland killed. Mr. Bidermann was on the mill looking down to the yard and saw the men come out of the mill and go back again when the explosion occurred. The mill was stopped for change."

  • Upper Yard

    • Graining Mill blown up
    "Henry Koyle [i.e. Kyle] killed. Mr. L. du Pont says he was outside the mill when the explosion occurred."

  • Mill

    • Rolling Mill 8
    "Repaired in 24 hours."

  • Mill

    • Rolling Mill 5

  • Mill

    • Upper Graining Mill Hagley
    " [John] Vance and [John] Greer killed. Peter Boisson ran the mill. The men Vance and Greer had only come to work in the powder on that morning. Boisson was sick and had to go out of the mill. He was a little way up the race bank when he saw Vance come to the door and whistle for him. He ran towards the mill, when it blew. He was thrown down."

  • Mill

    • Rolling Mills 1 and 2

  • Mill

    • Rolling Mill 4
    The mill "blew up during cleaning as there is no record of any one being hurt. It is supposed that the man ran out after he had struck fire and thus escaped."

  • Mill

    "Thomas Hetherington killed in Rolling Mill."

  • Mill

    • Mill 4

  • Mill

    • Rolling Mill 1

  • Mill

    • Dust Mill Hagley
    "Dust Mill Hagley blown up at 3:45PM. Brass balls put in as an experiment at 2PM by Alexis I. du Pont."

  • Lower Yard

    • Lower Dry House Hagley
    • 2 men killed
    "An eye witness saw them come out of the Dry House and raise the Head gates of the race (it was their business to attend to this) and go back to the building when the explosion occurred. The cause was never known. "

  • Mill

    • Dust Mill Hagley
    • Nobody injured

  • Mill

    • Mill 3
    "Archibald Watson was killed while cleaning Mill 3 Hagley. His charge was standing at the door and he ran past it in trying to escape, when it blew up."

  • Upper Yard

    • Press Room, Grainery, Packing House
    • 18 men killed
    "Extract from a letter to S.F. du Pont from his wife April 16, 1847: 'There has been the saddest explosion since 1818. All our beloved brothers are safe but the best men in our employ have perished.'"

  • Mill

    • Mill 7 and 8
    "Heinous accident occurred at Mills 7 & 8 Hagley. Christopher Cowan ran these mills at 10AM. He put his charge in and on starting the mills blew up setting fire to the wheel barrows of John Devine and James McCafferty."

  • Wagons

    "Occurred the explosion of the wagons in Wilmington Chambers, Talley and Keys were drivers. The cause of the explosion is unknown, but it was thought to have been caused by some evil person, as a man was seen to mount up on the rail of the near wagon a short time before the accident."

  • Mill

    • Mill 1

  • Mill

    • Dust Mill Hagley
    • Nobody injured

  • Mills

    • Grainery, Graining Mill, Mill 1 and 2
    • 3 men killed
    "The shock of the explosion tore off the weather boards from a small frame Magazine which has since been torn down but which stood in a hollow just above the grainery and the leaves caught fire around this magazine and the kegs rolled out into the burning leaves."

  • Composition House

    • Composition House, Saw Mill
    "By the great exertions of all concerned, the damage was confined to the composition and saw mill. The success achieved at this time was not to be had less than a year afterwards."

  • Grainery

    • Alexis I. du Pont killed
    "He was fatally injured, but never lost his coolness or presence of mind, ordering his son Eugene to tie his suspender round his leg to stop the bleeding. When he was placed upon a shutter to be carried home he sat upright as I saw him until brought into the house. Knowing the he had but a short time to live, his last moments were an example of Christian fortitude."

  • Mill

    • Dust Mill Hagley
    • Nobody injured

  • Mill

    • Upper Graining Mill Hagley
    "Upper Graining Mill Hagley blew up killing Neal Gibbons and John Grant. It was said that Gibbons had sent Grant to the millwright shop on some errand and that he (Grant) had just reached the corner of the mill when the explosion occurred. It was thought by some that Gibbons had committed suicide, as he was said to have told his wife that day at dinnertime that he would not trouble her long."

  • Press Room

    • Lower Press Room Hagley
    • 8 men killed
    "A powder cart was in front of the building and the horse was so badly burned that he had to be killed."

  • Mills

    • Rolling Mill, Graining Mill, Pressroom, Dust Mill, Packing House
    • 1 man killed

  • Upper Yard

    • Pressroom, Graining Mill, Dust Mill
    "I was in Wilmington and heard the three explosions distinctly, they shook the windows."

  • Packing House

    • Packing house destroyed
    • 13 men killed
    "This was as severe an explosion as ever occurred on the Brandywine, of a single building. I remember the scene of the accident very distinctly as I saw it a few minutes after it happened. Stones were thrown by this explosion as far as the lower gate of Hagley Yard."

  • Pressroom

    • Pressroom
    • Grainery Dust Mill
    • Mills 4 and 5
    "The explosion was a very violent one wakening people from their sleep with a terrible effect."

  • Upper Yard

    • Dust Mill
    • 2 men killed
    "McGee's body was thrown across the creek with such force that a piece of the bone of his leg was driven into the tree where his body struck, as that the tree had to have a piece chopped out to get the bone of the leg."

  • Lower Yard

    • Pressroom
    • 7 men killed
    "A laborer who was teaching the masons has a splinter driven through his breast. There would not have been such a loss of life had the building been cleaned out. A tub full of sweepings had been left in the building. A wagon was passing on the road at the time but was uninjured."

  • Lower Yard

    • Dust Mill
    "A man was killed on the other side of the creek while passing by a flying timber. A curious incident was that this man had formerly worked in this very mill but had left because he was afraid of the powder."

  • Upper Yard

    • Press Room, Grainery, Dust Mill, Mills 3,4,5,6 and 7
    • 10 men killed
    "The Hagley house was much shaken, the whole end was pulled out. A piece of timber struck the railing on top of the house and broke it."

  • Lower Yard

    • Pressroom
    • 3 men killed

  • Lower Yard

    • Grainery
    • 1 man killed
    "About four days after this explosion the men discussed the matter and struck for higher wages. They met Mr. Ireneé du Pont and asked him to accede to their demands."

  • Upper Yard

    • Graining Mill
    • 1 man killed

  • Mill

    • Mill 9
    • 1 man killed

  • Lower Yard

    • Dust Mill
    • Nobody injured

  • Upper Yard

    • Pressroom
    • 2 men killed
    "Flanigan lived 11 days but McLaughlin died that evening. McLaughlin had his legs broken and was very badly burned. His legs were broken by the side of the box. He was sweeping the floor."

  • Lower Yard

    • Pressroom
    "The whole interior of the building was in flame in an instant and it was not put out until the roof had fallen in. "

  • Upper Yard

    • Graining Mill
    "I was led to believe that the elevators caused the accident. There was about 7500 lbs of powder in the mill at the time."

  • Millwright Shop

    • 5 Glazing barrels
    "Jonas Miller was injured by the explosion of five Glazing barrels in the millwright shop. He and Dan Dougherty, a machinist, went to work to take the barrels apart and to clean the powder off them. He struck fire with an iron hammer on the shaft of one of the barrels."

  • Lower Yard

    • Graining Mill
    • 1 man killed
    "From the way in which the man's body was thrown I supposed he was standing upon the machine, for the body went half way up the hill on the other side of the creek, showing that he must have been above the powder. That he had a brush in his hand is possible for one was found very near him. It is probable that he was sweeping the machine while still running and got his brush caught in some way."

  • Lower Yard

    • Dust Mill, Graining Mill

  • Lower Yard

    • Mill 1

  • Upper Yard

    • Pressroom
    "Amos Carter was evidently trying to shut down the wheel, for the crank was found near his body in the wood on the other side of the creek, and his body was torn open by being thrown against the upright of the crank. Pat McKinney's body was found in the yard of the old house at Hagley, and that of Fred Dougherty was found near the keg mill. Patrick Dougherty's body was found in the creek near the upper glazing mill."

  • Lower Yard

    • Graining Mill
    "The cause of the explosion can never be known. It was attributed to shutting the doors. It may have been that the crank connection broke."

  • Mill

    • Rolling Mill 5

  • Foundry

    "A singular accident happened at 5 PM in the foundry. James Fisher told his boy to fill the zinc melting pot so that when he came from his work it would be ready. The boy did so but used balls from which the powder had not been washed. James Fisher kindled the fire when a loud report followed and the contents of the pot were driven up with great force. He was struck in the eyes with pieces of balls and very seriously injured."

  • Mill

    • Mill 2
    • 2 men killed

  • Upper Yard

    • Pressroom
    • 2 men killed
    "The walls moved bodily away 20ft and then fell down. The upper wall razed the pump house to the ground injuring the pumps very much."

  • Nitro Glycerin House

    "Norcross and the men were found about 30 ft from the building where they had been killed while running. L. du Pont and Hill were buried under a pile of earth from an embankment, of the more hereafter."