Industriana, MN Sawmill Boiler Explosion, Nov 1858

BOILER EXPLOSION.

A terrible explosion of the boilers of the steam saw-mill at Industraina, five miles above Minneapolis, took place at ten o'clock Wednesday morning. The mill was erected and put in operation last spring, the saws being propelled by a powerful engine with three boilers. At the time of the catastrophe there were seventeen men in the mill, and it is a miracle that many were not killed on the spot. The noise of the explosion was terrific, and the wreck was total and most complete. Hardly one timber was left upon another, and all the men standing nearest were crushed in the ruins. The mill was demolished. The engineer. Mr. J. Wolff, had his leg broken at the thigh, and was otherwise severely injured. William Hall suffered a horrible fracture of one leg, a portion of it being carried away. Four others, whose names we did not learn, were badly wounded. We can best illustrate the force of the explosion by saying that one of the boilers, thirty feet in length, nearly three feet in diameter, and weighing 3.500 pounds, was blown a quarter of a mile through the air, passing over two dwelling houses in its flight. Another boiler was sunk half its length in an adjacent bank, while the third remained unmoved. The disaster is attributed to the safety-valves being out of order.--- St. Anthony News, Nov. 4.

The Adams Sentinel, Gettysburg, PA 22 Nov 1858
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Transcribed by Linda Horton. Thank you, Linda!