Name/Title
Building and Debris After Powder Co. Explosion, 1934Entry/Object ID
TIN-0067.8Description
Building and Debris, 1934. This image was captured at what remained of the J.A. Denn Powder Company dynamite plant following two explosions which occurred on July 27, 1934. This image shows a large amount of wood and metal debris scattered across a large open area of ground in the foreground. This debris appears to consist mostly of wooden structural elements and corrugated sheet metal from the destroyed buildings. In the left-hand portion of the image, just above the horizontal center of the image, is a large metal vessel which appears to be cylindrical in shape. This cylinder is oriented horizontally, and a cylindrical stub comes vertically off the main body of the main vessel at its center point. It appears that a tall tree trunk, broken just above the vertical stub on the vessel, is coming out of the stub. This tree may in fact be behind the vessel and only appears to be coming out of the vessel. This "tree" could also be a bent smokestack coming out of the vessel. A metal smokestack rises vertically from the right-hand end of the vessel. To the right of this vessel is a large concrete building with a peaked roof. This is the same building visible in image TIN-0067.7. Large evergreen trees make up the background of the image.
Written on the reverse side of this photograph is "Clearence made Boxes in this Concrete Bildin and he ran out to helpe With the fire and When the Explosion Come he Was Kiled." Also written on the reverse side is "Ruth Southwick" and "Lacey, Wash."
The J.A. Denn Powder Company was owned by Joseph A. Denn, with its headquarters located in Portland, Oregon. The Hawk's Prairie dynamite plant was built in 1933. On June 27, 1934, two consecutive explosions occurred at the plant, killing ten and leveling all but two of the eight buildings which made up the plant. One additional person died from their injuries the following day. The specifc cause of the explosions remains a mystery. ("Explosions at the J. A. Denn Powder Company, in Hawk's Prairie near Lacey, kill 10 and injure seven on June 27, 1934,” Historylink.com, posted July 8, 2007, http://www.historylink.org/File/8155.)Made/Created
Date made
1934 - 1934Place
Neighborhood
Hawk's PrairieCity
LaceyCounty
ThurstonState/Province
WashingtonCountry
United StatesContinent
North AmericaNotes
Date: July, 1934
Medium: Photographic Paper/Photographic EmulsionLexicon
Search Terms
Buildings, Industrial AccidentsRelationships
Related Events
Event
J.A. Denn Powder Company Explosion, 1934
