f3banner_0

Why Did the A Mill Explode?

 
washburnamill

Ruins of Washburn A Mill after explosion, Minneapolis, 1878. 
Photographer: Jacoby 
Minnesota Historical Society Photograph Collection, Location no. MH5.9 MP3.1W r46; Negative no. 7286-A

 

The A Mill had used the middlings purifier, which made the flour better but produced a large amount of dust. It was this dust that sparked the explosion that wiped out most of the milling district and killed 18 workers.