Disaster!

Today marks ninety-first anniversary of the Boston Molasses Disaster. On January 15, 1919, near the North End waterfront, an enormous tank of molasses, molasses swollen and liquescent from the unseasonably warm weather, exploded. Twenty-one people were killed and one-hundred fifty injured as a wave of molasses swept over the area moving at speeds approaching thirty-five mph. If you want to get your local history on, you can visit Lagone Park, located where the tank once stood, and nearby Puopolo Park, which features a small commemorative plaque near the entrance.

And if you really want to delve into the mystery and horror of the molasses flood, several books have been written on the subject, such as Dark Tide: The Great Boston Molasses Flood of 1919, by Stephen Puleo, available from Powell’s as well as most local libraries and bookstores.

Books for younger readers include the rare volume, Molasses Flood, available at the Boston Public Library. Molasses Flood the story of Charley, whose house is swept away by the tide and carried across town. Imagine. Your house wrenched from its moorings by a dark, sweet wave containing human bodies, horses, produce stands, house cats, and sundry domestic accoutrements. Your house carried atop this sticky mass, this viscous grave, to an unknown destination. Horrors. Who would ever think to write a picture book about such a thing?

Which brought to mind the final stanza of William Cowper’s “The Castaway”:

When, snatched from all effectual aid,
We perished, each alone:
But I beneath a rougher sea,
And whelmed in deeper gulfs than he.

Tags:   Boston · Katherine · local history · molasses · North EndNo Comments