The Great Molasses Flood

On January 15, 1919, one of the strangest disasters in American history hit Boston’s North End. A massive steel storage tank holding more than two million gallons of molasses suddenly burst apart, sending a towering wave of molasses through the neighborhood at an estimated 35 miles per hour. Buildings were destroyed. People and horses were swept away. Rescuers became trapped themselves. And when the molasses began to cool and thicken, escaping became even harder. But the disaster didn’t come without warning. For years, the tank leaked. Residents heard strange groans, bangs, and popping sounds coming from its walls. Rivets failed. Complaints were made. And instead of addressing the growing danger, the company kept filling the tank. This week on X-UMED, Lisa and Sam dig into the Great Molasses Flood of 1919—what caused the tank to fail, what witnesses experienced when millions of gallons of molasses tore through Boston, the brutal rescue and cleanup efforts, the company’s attempt to blame sabotage, and the massive legal battle that followed. It sounds almost ridiculous until you realize just how deadly it was. Twenty-one people lost their lives, around 150 were injured, and Boston would never look at industrial safety quite the same way again. Sources SOURCES & FURTHER READING • Boston Public Library — “Boston’s Great Molasses Flood” • Smithsonian Magazine — “Without Warning, Molasses Surged Over Boston 100 Years Ago” • Smithsonian Magazine — “The Sticky Science Behind the Deadly Boston Molasses Disaster” • Stephen Puleo — Dark Tide: The Great Boston Molasses Flood of 1919 (Beacon Press) • Boston Daily Globe / Boston Globe archival reporting on the January 1919 disaster • Contemporary Boston newspaper accounts and photographs preserved in the Boston Public Library collections