The Kingsland Explosion was an incident that took place during World War I at a munitions factory in New Jersey. “The Great War ” redirects here. ... It has been suggested that this article be split into multiple articles. ...

Following the successful sabotage of Black Tom Island, the next target selected by the German saboteurs was the Canadian Car and Foundry Company at Kingsland. The company based in Montreal signed large contracts with Russia and England for delivery of shells. An enormous factory was constructed in the New Jersey Meadowlands, which was then referred to as Kingsland. The company executives decided not to take any chances with security for their plant. They constructed a six-foot fence around the plant and hired security guards to conduct 24-hour patrols around the perimeter and to screen each worked as they entered the plant. It was located on the site of Lyndhurst’s present industrial park. A brick stack, believed to be the remaining part of the Foundry, is located in the area bounded by Valley Brook Avenue, Polito Avenue, and the office buildings on Wall Street West. German supply train blown up by the Armia Krajowa during World War II Sabotage is a deliberate action aimed at weakening an enemy, oppressor or employer through subversion, obstruction, disruption, and/or destruction. ... Black Tom Cassidy is a fictional character, a mutant supervillain in the Marvel Comics universe. ... Nickname: Motto: Concordia Salus (in unity, prosperity) Coordinates: Country Canada Province Quebec Founded 1642 Established 1832 Government  - Mayor Gérald Tremblay Area [1][2][3]  - City 365. ... Motto (French) God and my right Anthem God Save the King (Queen) England() – on the European continent() – in the United Kingdom() Capital (and largest city) London (de facto) Official languages English (de facto) Government Constitutional monarchy  -  Queen Queen Elizabeth II  -  Prime Minister Tony Blair MP Unification  -  by Athelstan 967  Area... New Jersey Meadowlands from Route 7 This article is about the wetlands. ... Lyndhurst is a village claiming to be capital of the New Forest in Hampshire, England. ...

On January 11, 1917, a fire started in Building 30 of the Canadian Car and Foundry Company in Kingsland, (now Lyndhurst) Bergen County, New Jersey. In four hours, probably 500,000, three-inch-high explosive shells were discharged. The entire plant was destroyed. It was said to have been a spectacle more magnificent than the explosion at Black Tom. From the office buildings and tall apartments, people in New York City, watched with amazement. January 11 is the 11th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1917 (MCMXVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar (see link for calendar) or a common year starting on Tuesday of the 13-day slower Julian calendar (see: 1917 Julian calendar). ... Map highlighting Lyndhursts location within Bergen County. ... Bergen County is a county located in the state of New Jersey. ... It has been suggested that this article be split into multiple articles. ... This article is concerned solely with chemical explosives. ... Nickname: Location in the state of New York Coordinates: Country United States State New York Boroughs The Bronx Brooklyn Manhattan Queens Staten Island Settled 1625 Government  - Mayor Michael Bloomberg (R) Area  - City  468. ...

The Building

In March 1916, World War I was in progress. Although the United States had not yet entered the war, the country was assisting its allies with war supplies. Munitions, including shells, shell cases, shrapnel, and powder were shipped to Kingsland from over 100 different factories. At the foundry they were assembled for shipment to Russia. Since it was producing 3 million shells per month, the factory was definitely a worthy objective for German saboteurs. “The Great War ” redirects here. ...

This building was used exclusively for cleaning out shells; it contained 48 workbenches. On the bench in front of each employee was a pan of gasoline and a small rotating machine operated by a belt. The cleaning process included several steps: Gasoline or petrol is a petroleum-derived liquid mixture consisting mostly of hydrocarbons and enhanced with benzene or iso-octane to increase octane ratings, used as fuel in internal combustion engines. ...

• the shells were dusted with a brush
• a cloth, moistened in the pan of gasoline, was wrapped around a foot-long piece of wood
• the shell was placed in the rotating machine and the wood was inserted into the shell as it turned
• a dry cloth was wrapped around the stick and the shell was dried in a similar manner.

The Villain

The group of saboteurs operated under the direction of Frederick Hinsch. He recruited a German national Curt Thummel, who changed his name to Charles Thorne. Hinsch instructed Thorne to obtain employment at the factory. Thorne is hired as assistant employment manager. In this position he facilitated the hiring of several operatives sent by Hinsch to infiltrate the factory. One of those employees was Theodore Wozniak.

After the Kingsland plant is completely destroyed, police and federal investigators uncovered the source of the fire. It started at Wozniak's workbench in Building 30.

In an affidavit Foundry Foreman Morris Chester Musson said:

“I noticed that this man Wozniak has quite a large collection of rags and that the blaze started in these rags. I also noticed the he had spilled his pan of alcohol all over the table, just preceding that time. I also noticed that someone threw a pail of liquid on the rags or the table almost immediately in the confusion. I am not able to state whether this was water or one of the pails of refuse alcohol under the tables. My recollection, however, is that there were no pails of water in the building, the fire buckets being filled with sand. Whatever the liquid was, it caused the fire to spread very rapidly and the flames dropped down on the floor and in a few minutes, the entire place was in a blaze. It was my firm conviction from what I saw, and I stated, that the place was set on fire purposely, and that has always been and is my firm belief.”

Other workmen alleged that the fire began in front of Wozniak’s wooden roller. One of the company directors, Mr. Cahan, remarked about Wozniak’s nervous behavior and contradictions during an interview about the incident. Wozniak, who admitted that he had served time in the Austrian Army, was told by Mr. Cahan that he would be needed in New York as part of the investigation into the fire. Wozniak, who lived at the Russian Immigrant House on Third Street in New York City, eluded the detectives who were watching him and disappeared.

The Heroine

A heroine emerged the day of the fire. Kingsland resident Tessie McNamara, who operated the company switchboard, was credited with 1,400 lives. As the fire raged on, Tessie stayed at the switchboard that Thursday afternoon. She plugged in each of the buildings and shouted the warning, “Get out or go up!” Thanks to her dedication, no one was killed in the fire. Escaping workers were able to cross the frozen Hackensack River or run up Valley Brook Avenue to safety. Some of those who crossed the Hackensack River made their way to the buildings on Snake Hill. The Hackensack River, as seen from the New Jersey Turnpike. ... The Hackensack River, as seen from the New Jersey Turnpike. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...

The National Special Aid Society later presented Miss McNamara with a check to honor her for her bravery.

The Lyndhurst Historical Society has created a vest pocket park dedicated to her memory. The park is located on Clay Avenue, between Valley Brook Avenue and Wall Street West. The brick stack can be seen from this park.

Terror ruled Snake Hill

There were Hudson County penal and charitable institutions on Snake Hill, in Secaucus. The Almshouse, Penitentiary, and Hospital for the Insane, Contagious Diseases Hospital, and Tuberculosis Sanitarium, were all grouped on the north side of Snake Hill. When the fire and ensuing explosions started, the residents of Snake Hill began to panic, they thought the world was coming to an end. From the windows they could see what the warden later described as a big display of fireworks. As the 900+ inmates of the asylum grew more panicked, the superintendent, Dr. George W. King, and Dr. James Meehan, chairman of the Hospital committee figured a way to calm the residents. Dr. Meehan hurried to the hospital with supplies of ice cream, fruits and candies. The inmates were assembled in the lecture hall and they were told that the European War had ended and the explosions were detonations of big guns to celebrate the event. The skyline of Jersey City, as seen from Lower New York Bay. ... Secaucus is a town in Hudson County, New Jersey, USA. As of the United States 2000 Census, the town population was 15,931. ... The Almshouse at Sherborne, Dorset The Almshouse at Woburn, Bedfordshire West Hackney Almshouses in Stoke Newington, London. ... A prison is a place in which people are confined and deprived of a range of liberties. ... Tuberculosis (abbreviated as TB for Tubercle Bacillus) is a common and deadly infectious disease that is caused by mycobacteria, primarily Mycobacterium tuberculosis. ... There are a few meanings of Sanitarium: A sanitarium can be a psychiatric hospital. ...

The case dragged on for many years and was finally settled in the 1950s. Germany never admitted guilt, but paid reparations to the United States.

External Links

• http://lyndhursthistoricalsociety.org/KingslandExplosion.html
• http://www.bergen.org/ourstory/resources/patriot/casestudy2/Kingsland%20explosion.pdf
• http://www.bergen.org/ourstory/resources/patriot/casestudy2/Kingsland.Lyndhurst.explosion.pdf