Pemberton Mill

The Pemberton Mill was a large textiles factory in Lawrence, Massachusetts, originally built in 1853. On January 10, 1860, at around 4:30 p.m., a section of the building suddenly collapsed, trapping several hundred workers underneath the rubble, in what has been called "the worst industrial accident in Massachusetts history" and "one of the worst industrial calamities in American history." Of the hundreds crushed under the wreckage, an estimated 88 to 145 of them were killed instantly, and 166 were removed, albeit critically injured.

Following the incident, as search-and-rescue efforts continued in an effort to locate survivors or bodies, a volunteer's handheld oil lamp was accidentally knocked, spilling its burning oil onto the wreckage; a massive fire soon enveloped the site, preventing the rescue of many potential survivors. The blaze spread quickly, due to the mill containing a large amount of lumber, as well as chemical-laden machinery and the large amounts of cotton, denim, flannel, and other flammable materials produced therein.

Investigators attributed the disaster to substandard construction that was then drastically overloaded with second-floor equipment, all evident and preventable. The event was cited in improvements to industrial construction and workplace safety. The mill was soon rebuilt in place.

The Pemberton Mill was built in 1853 as a five-story building 280 feet (85 m) long and 84 feet (26 m) wide. Its chief engineer was Charles H. Bigelow. Its construction was financed by John A. Lowell and his brother-in-law J. Pickering Putnam at a cost of US$850,000 (equivalent to about $33,000,000 in 2025). This was called "a fortune for those times."

During a financial panic in 1857, Lowell and Putnam sold the mill to George Howe and David Nevins, Sr. at a $350,000 loss. The new owners jammed more machinery into their factory attempting to boost its profits. The mill ran with great success, earning $1,500,000 (equivalent to about $52,000,000 in 2025) per year, and had 2,700 spindles and 700 looms in operation at the time of the disaster.

Shortly before 5:00 p.m. on a Tuesday afternoon in 1860, workers in nearby factories watched with horror as the Pemberton Mill buckled and then collapsed with a mighty crash. According to later court testimony reported by The New York Times, owner George Howe escaped as the structure was falling.

Dozens were killed instantly and more than six hundred workers, many of them women and children, were trapped in the ruins. When the winter sun set, rescuers built bonfires to illuminate their efforts, revealing "faces crushed beyond recognition, open wounds in which the bones showed through a paste of dried blood, brick dust, and shredded clothing."

Around 9:30 p.m., with many people still trapped in the wreck of the factory, someone accidentally knocked over an oil lamp. Flames raced across the cotton waste and splintered wood – some of it soaked with oil. One trapped man cut his own throat rather than be consumed by the approaching flames; he was rescued, but died from his other injuries. As the fire grew, rescuers, physicians, families of the trapped victims, and spectators were all driven back by the conflagration. The screams coming from the ruins were soon silenced, leaving rescuers to eventually discover only the burned, smoldering remains of "brick, mortar and human bones ... promiscuously mingled."