Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
West Point Boiler Works Explosion
March 22, 1899
Five Men Killed by a Boiler Explosion in
Pittsburg.
A boiler in the WEST POINT boiler works, owned
by A. MONROE
& SON, on Twenty-third street, Pittsburg,
Penn., exploded shortly after 12 o'clock,
killing five men, wounding twelve and wrecking
the building. The force of the explosion was
terrible. It shook the earth for several block
around, shattering windows and creating
consternation in the neighborhood.
At noon the whistle was sounded, and immediately
the majority of the sixty-five employes [sic]
left the place. Five minutes later every man who
remained in the place had been either killed or
injured. In a moment hundreds of people were on
the ground, and the work of rescue was begun at
once. An alarm of fire was sounded, but the
wreckage fortunately was of brick and the flames
that had started did not make much headway
before they were extinguished.
Firemen and policemen commenced the work of
rescuing the buried, and in a short time the
dead were removed.
The killed were: GUS
LINNEBAU, engineer, 25 years, single;
JAMES CARTER,
boilermaker, 30 years, married;
JACOB RHEINHEIMER,
boilermaker, 28 years, married;
CHARLES AULENBACHE,
boilermaker, 45 years, married;
DANIEL CLARK,
boilermaker, 30 years, single.
STEPHEN CARTER,
one of the injured, had his skull
fractured, and was fatally injured.
The building was a large one-story brick
structure and was formally occupied by
WILLIAM SMITH
& SONS, pipe manufacturers. The plant was a
valuable one, and will prove a complete loss.
Nothing remains but a mass of brick, mortar and
timbers.
The boilers were inspected six months ago, and
were thought to be in first class condition. The
real cause of the explosion will probably never
be known, as the engineer was killed outright,
and no one has been found who was in the engine
room at the time the disaster took place.
The Cranbury Press New Jersey 1889-03-22
Submitted & transcribed by Stu
Beitler Thank you,
Stu!
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