On January 15, 1919 a bulking, leaky tank containing 2.3 million gallons of sticky molasses exploded at the bottom of Copp’s Hill in the North End neighborhood of Boston. The force of the explosion caused buildings to collapse and sent a wave of molasses down Commercial Street at an estimated 35 mph. The gooey substance covered the neighborhood and spread across downtown Boston, burying and drowning people and animals in its way.
Why Molasses?
Molasses is the residue that’s left over when sugar cane is boiled to extract sugar and can be used to produce some products such as cattle feed and rum. Boston had long been a major molasses center because its local distillers were a big part of the triangular molasses, rum, and slave trade in the 1700s.
The slave trade in Massachusetts ended in 1781 but Boston continued to produce a large amount of rum so there was still a need for vast quantities of molasses.
Tank in Bad Shape Before Molasses Flood
What became known as the “Great Molasses Flood” came from a 50-foot steel holding tank on Commercial Street in Boston’s North End. United States Industrial Alcohol owned the tank and used it to take regular shipments of molasses from the Caribbean but it was built haphazardly. Problems started to show when World War I increased demand for industrial alcohol.
Residents of the North End became used to the giant steel tank groaning and molasses would regularly leak onto the street as the condition of the tank worsened. USIA did little to improve the situation beyond painting the tank brown in an attempt to hide the leaking molasses. Finally on the afternoon of January 15, 1919, the tank split open with a metallic scream and released over 2 million gallons of molasses onto the North End Boston streets. A wave of molasses rolled over everything in its path; snapping trees, toppling buildings, crushing cars, and trapping people. The molasses receded almost as quickly as it came but the damage had been done, a total of 21 men, women, and children died in the Great Molasses Flood.
North End History
Learn about the Great Molasses Flood and more North End History on Boston’s “Politically Incorrect” North End Food Tour. The neighborhood is home to important historical landmarks like the Paul Revere House, Old North Church, and Freedom Trail. Our walking food tour visits historic sites, hidden gems, unique shops and local hangouts so you can get a feel for the best the neighborhood has to offer.