Great Molasses Flood

The Great Molasses Flood, also known as the Boston Molasses Disaster or the Great Boston Molasses Flood, occurred on January 15, 1919, in the North End neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts. A large storage tank filled with 2.3 million US gal weighing approximately 13,000 short tons of molasses burst, and the resultant wave of molasses rushed through the streets at an estimated 35 mph , killing 21 and injuring 150. The event entered local folklore and residents claimed for decades afterwards that the area still smelled of molasses on hot summer days.
The disaster occurred at the Purity Distilling Company facility at 529 Commercial Street near Keany Square. Molasses can be fermented to produce ethanol, the active ingredient in alcoholic beverages and a key component in munitions. Purity used the harborside Commercial Street tank to offload molasses from ships and store it for later transfer by pipeline to the Purity ethanol plant situated between Willow Street and Evereteze Way in Cambridge. The molasses tank stood 50 ft tall and 90 ft in diameter and contained as much as 2.3 million US gal .

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