The Roanoke times. [volume] (Roanoke, Va.) 1890-1895, 1890-10-08
The DUPONT MILLS BLOWN UP.
The Largest Powder Works i'm
America Shattered.
All the Mills in the Upper Yard. Dis
appear in an Instant-A Dozen Killed
and Score wounded-story OF tho
Accident-Ali from a Spark.


-Ihe office and eight mills of the Dupont
Powder Works near here are in ruins:
NIFTY or more houses of worknnen at the
upper yard are wrecked; dozen. per-
maps moro, workmen are dead, and q
score or more others are injured, as the
result OF a series of powder explosions
at $50 O'Clock this afternoon of the Du-
pont works, which are we'll known
throughout the country as the the lar
gest powder mills in the United States.
The mills extend along the banks of the
Brandywine, chiefly on west side. for
about two miles. They are divided into
Upper, Hagley, and Lower yards. The
hrst named, where the Office of the COM
pany is located, is about three miles.
and the last named about five miles
from Wilmington.
workman named Grau. ir one of the
packing mills connected with the up
per- yards, was receiving can OF hex
agonal powder to be shipped for the
Government, when in some way n spark
was communicated to the can and il
blew up. Instantly the packing mill
cXploJctl. and other mills in the upper
yardsHsevcn or eight in number. fol-
lowed at intervals of less than one Sec
ond, from conclusion.
All these except one wore rolling
mills, in which the ingredients of gun
powder are pulverized by the action of
vertical rollers of stone, turning slowly
around Il central post. Tho whole ma
chincry is driven by water power. The
odd one was mixing mill" The
shock was simply terrific, and was felt
even in Philadelphia, 81 miles away,
and in New Jersey and elsewhere.
At the upper yards, where the expIo-
sion occurred, are some fifty houses in
habitcd by employees of the powder mills
clustered here and there, and all are
wrecked. The Office of the Dupont Com
pany is a complete wreck and six mills
arc in ruins. All buildings within a ra-
dius of mile are damaged, and tho
conclusion even broke windows in some
parts of Wilmington, four or i've miles
away.
Immediately after the explosion a
large building known as 1.-The refinery,
located near the center of the village,
| took fire. 1t was matter of life and
death to the whole population that this
fire should be extinguished before it
communicated with the powder the
building contained. Taking their lives
in their hands tho Dupont Fire Brigade
fought the flames, which had caught the
roof. 1t was touch and 60 between sue
cess and destruction, but the fircmen
won. Had the roof fallen in it is doubt
full if any man, woman, or child in tho
vicinity would have escaped without Sc
rious injury.
About fifty families are rendered
homeless by the disaster, and many of
them were SO dazed by the terrible
events of those few seconds as to seem
hardly conscious of where they are or
what they are doing. The injured arc
being gathered into the hospital build
ing appertaining to the works, and arc
receiving such surgical and other aid as
they, need. Owing to the rocky and
wooded character of the locality, but
little can be done in the way of search
ing for the missing or ascertaining the
extent of damage done to property until
daylight.
Following is partial list of the killed:
Martin Dolan, JAS. Dolan, VIM. Me-
Gnrvey, John liartigan, VIM Dennison,
John Dietz, John Iiurliko, Patrick
Doughcrty, VIM. Green, John Newal1
and u woman named Rose Dougherty.
Several others are missing. The more
seriously injured, so far as learned, are:
Daniel liarkins, VIM. Logan Twill prob
ably dic), Annie and Marie Dolan.
daughters of James Dolan, who is among
the killed. James Ward, leg broken, and
hurt internally; Hugh Ferry, picked up
unconscious, injuries unknown; John
Mcdowell. head badly hurt; Mrs. Wm.
Mcdowell, ear cut Off and head very
badly cut; her two-ycar-old daughter,
seriously injured; Lydia Anderson, arm
broken and badly bruised.
Among the slightly injured are:
Eugene Dupont, the head of the firm;
Francis &. Dupont, and Charles /.
Dupont. They and several clerks In
the Office were cut by fragments of
broken glass but none seriously. The
dead were all employees of the company.
and were in and about tho mills that
exploded. Several workmen are missing
and are believed to have been blown to
fragments. The wounded received their
injuries among the walls of their fall
ing houses, and broken glass and flying
debris. Had there not been a general
and instant exodus from their houses at