T. A. Gillespie Company Shell Loading Plant explosion

The T. A. Gillespie Company Shell Loading Plant explosion, sometimes called the Morgan Munitions Depot explosion or similar titles, began at 7:36 pm EDT on Friday, October 4, 1918, at a World War I ammunition plant in the Morgan area of Sayreville in Middlesex County, New Jersey, United States. The initial explosion, generally believed to be accidental, triggered a fire and subsequent series of explosions that continued for three days, totaling approximately six kilotons, killing about 100 people and injuring hundreds more. The facility, one of the largest in the world at the time, was destroyed along with more than 300 surrounding buildings, forcing the evacuation and reconstruction of Sayreville, South Amboy, and Laurence Harbor . Over a century later, explosive debris continues to surface regularly across a 1.2-mile radius.
T. A. Gillespie Company, founded by Thomas Andrew Gillespie , was operating a subsidiary named the American Shell Company, loading artillery shells for overseas military action during World War I. After the war, the company was renamed Gillespie Motor Company in 1919, merged to form Gillespie-Eden Corporation in 1920, and disappeared sometime after 1923. The initial Morgan explosion, according to the US Army Corps of Engineers, was in Building 6-1-1, at the present-day residential block bounded by Dusko, Gillen and Rota Drives. The full plant employed more than 6,000 workers in round-the-clock production.

More information

Comments Statistics

| | Public | German