In 1898 people living in suburban Buffalo, New York were used to having factories in their neighborhoods. Men liked being able to walk to work rather than pay to take a streetcar. July 14th of that year was a day like any other day where children were outside playing and men were making their way home from a day of work when at about 5 p.m. an explosion came from the Niagara Starch Works plant, one of the boilers had exploded.
The Buffalo Express described the scene: "The Three floors of the milling department of the factory, which really made up Building A, had sunk to the level of the floor of the second floor. The roof was still attached to the edge of the building of Building B and it sloped from this roof to the center of the ruin of Building A. Two monstrous vats, which had held some sort of chemical used in the manufacture of starch, had tipped out of the second floor and sagged to the sidewalk on Oneida Street."
All four Niagara workers inside the boiler were killed. But two babies and a mother were killed nearby from falling debris and another 25 people were injured, of which 11 were children under the age of 16. Blocks of houses and storefronts closest to the blast suffered severe damage. The Buffalo Express reported: "Howard Street looked like a brick factory and a glass factory after a huge rolling machine had passed through them. The street was literally covered with broken glass and broken brick."
The owner of a grocery store located 500 yards away from the explosion reported that a 2.5 foot piece of steel weighing 107 pounds landed on the sidewalk outside his store.
The cause of the explosion could not be determined because no part of the boiler remained and all four people inside of it were killed. A story like this makes me thankful that we have zoning regulations that keep factories from being built in the middle of our neighborhoods as well as preventing developers from building homes around factories.
Here is a trade card from the Niagara Starch Company. By the way: Niagara Spray Starch is still sold today and is owned by Phoenix Brands of Connecticut, which owns several brands you have also heard of, including Rit Dye.
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Enjoy!
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