A flour dust explosion at Minneapolis's Washburn A Mill killed 18 workers and destroyed multiple mills, exposing the industrial hazard of grain dust ignition.
Key Facts
- Date
- May 2, 1878
- Total deaths
- 18 people
- Workers inside mill killed
- 14 people
- Additional millworkers killed
- 4 people
- Mill owner
- Cadwallader C. Washburn
- Replacement mill architect
- William de la Barre
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
The Washburn A Mill, the largest flour mill in the world at the time, accumulated fine flour dust in its interior. On the evening of May 2, 1878, this dust reached a concentration sufficient to ignite, a known but poorly mitigated industrial hazard in large-scale milling operations of the era.
A dust explosion tore through the Washburn A Mill in Minneapolis, Minnesota, instantly killing all fourteen workers inside. The blast triggered a fire that spread to neighboring mills, killing four more workers. The destruction was severe and abrupt, occurring on a Thursday evening with no apparent opportunity for evacuation.
The disaster significantly reduced Minneapolis's flour-milling capacity, which was central to the city's economy. Mill owner Cadwallader C. Washburn commissioned a replacement mill designed by William de la Barre. That structure was later also destroyed, and its ruins are now a National Historic Landmark and part of the Mill City Museum.
Human Cost
Each dot represents approximately 10,000 deaths. Total estimated: 18 (other)