The Great Molasses Flood
Forgotten History · 1919
Published
At about 1 p.m. on 15 January 1919, a huge storage tank burst in Boston’s North End and released 2.3 million gallons of molasses. The dense wave tore through streets and buildings, killing 21 people and injuring around 150. What sounded absurd became one of the city’s deadliest industrial disasters.
Why It Mattered
The flood exposed what could happen when industrial expansion outran engineering care and public safety. Years of legal action ended with the tank’s owner held responsible, helping make the disaster an important case in corporate accountability and construction standards.
Tank and Setting
- The tank was built in 1915 and stood beside elevated railway tracks in the North End.
- Molasses delivered at Copp's Hill Wharf was stored before transfer to rail cars and distilleries.
Rupture and Loss
- The City of Boston identifies a 2.3-million-gallon release from a 50-foot tank.
- The official city account records 21 deaths and 150 injuries.
- A 1925 finding held the tank owner negligent.
Surviving Record
- The Library of Congress preserves a glass-negative image captioned 'Boston molasses explosion' in the American National Red Cross photograph collection.
- The catalogue dates that negative to the period between 1919 and 1929.
Associated With
Purity Distilling Company - creator or operator
Defining Feature
Rupture of a 50-foot tank holding 2.3 million gallons of industrial molasses
Status
Historical event - Historical industrial disaster; 21 people were killed and 150 injured
Primary Records
Image Sources
- All one image sources are not yet verified — editorial review required.
Rights Notice
Images are included for historical and archival reference.
Rights holders may contact Forgotten Archive through the publishing account to request a credit correction or removal.
Gallery
Credit
Globe Newspaper Co. / Boston Public Library, via Wikimedia Commons
Licence
Public domain
This image is recorded as public domain. Its source provides the provenance.
Caption
The Molasses Flood's wreckage disrupted an ordinary Boston waterfront neighbourhood, making the photograph a record of industrial failure reaching far beyond the storage tank.