Historical Photos of the Great Molasses Flood Memorial Plaque in Boston
Well now, if you’re wanderin’ ’round Boston, and you happen to be in the North End, you might just spot a little plaque hangin’ on the wall somewhere. Now, don’t go thinkin’ it’s just some fancy plaque talkin’ ’bout the usual stuff, ’cause this one tells a mighty strange story. It’s all about the Great Molasses Flood, somethin’ that happened way back in 1919. You wouldn’t think somethin’ like molasses could cause so much trouble, but boy, you’d be wrong.
So, here’s the deal: They had this big ol’ molasses tank in the North End, a huge thing—bigger than your grandma’s old wood stove. It was supposed to hold molasses for the factories around there, but it wasn’t built so good. You see, the tank had some issues. There were cracks, and it wasn’t as sturdy as it should’ve been. Then, one hot day in January, the weather was a lot warmer than it should’ve been, and that poor tank just couldn’t take it no more. The whole thing burst wide open like an old rusty barrel, and out came a big ol’ wave of molasses.
This wasn’t just a little spill you could clean up with a mop. No, no, no—this was a 40-foot high wave of sticky, gooey molasses. It rushed through the streets, knocking over buildings, breaking railroad tracks, and just messin’ up everything in its path. The poor folks in the neighborhood didn’t stand a chance. They say the molasses flowed so fast that people couldn’t get away in time. It just came rollin’ through like a great big flood.
The result? Well, it was awful. A lot of people died that day. Twenty-one folks—men, women, and children—lost their lives, and it wasn’t just the people either. Twelve poor horses were caught in that mess, and who knows how many cats and dogs were lost. Some say you could still smell that molasses for years afterward, even when the weather turned warm. Now, I don’t know if it was true, but it sure makes ya wonder, don’t it?
And that smell? That thick, sticky molasses smell stayed in the air for a long time. Imagine walkin’ outside on a hot day and gettin’ a whiff of that. Nasty, right? I reckon the folks around there didn’t forget it for a while, but eventually, the smell went away. And they never did quite figure out how to get that sticky molasses out of the cracks in the streets. Can you imagine cleanin’ that up? It’d take more than a broom and a bucket of water, I’ll tell you that much.
Now, you might be wonderin’, how in the world could somethin’ like this happen? Well, it wasn’t just the tank’s fault. The weather had a hand in it too. You see, the temperature was a lot warmer than it should’ve been, and the molasses was a lot thinner than usual. When that tank burst, the molasses just poured out faster than anyone could handle. And the sticky syrup made it real hard for the rescue workers to help the folks who were trapped. It wasn’t like your normal flood, where you could just wade in and pull folks out. No, sir. This was more like a sticky trap that nobody could get out of in time.
Even though help came quick, there wasn’t much that could be done. The molasses hardened up quick, like it was turnin’ to cement, and that made rescue work even harder. Some people say the hardest thing was tryin’ to find the folks who were buried under all that goo. It wasn’t easy, and by the time they could get to some of them, it was too late.
So, if you ever find yourself walkin’ around Boston and you see that plaque, you’ll know exactly what it’s talkin’ about. The Great Molasses Flood wasn’t just a mess—it was a disaster that changed the neighborhood forever. And even though it happened a long time ago, folks still remember it like it was yesterday. Can’t forget somethin’ that big and sticky, now can you?
Tags:[Great Molasses Flood, Boston History, North End, Historic Disasters, Molasses Tragedy, Boston Flood, Molasses Flood Plaque, Boston Stories, 1919 Molasses Disaster]
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