Name/Title
Loading dynamite-Hercules Gunpowder factory 1930sDescription
In 1869, California Powder Works established a dynamite plant in San Francisco in the same area that is now Golden Gate Park. As San Francisco developed and the populace moved closer to the plant, the dangerous business of producing explosives proved undesirable, and California Powder Works was forced to find a new location. In 1879, California Powder Works began purchasing land on the isolated shores of San Pablo Bay. The plant was constructed in two years, and finally, in 1881 began producing dynamite.
Before the United States government declared war on Germany, the Hercules plant produced dynamite and TNT (trinitrotoluene) for the Allied Forces in World War I. In 1915, the plant manufactured 20,000 pounds of explosives daily. After the United States entered the war in 1917, the plant manufactured more than seven million pounds of TNT per month, making Hercules the largest-producing plant in the country.
A “fireless” locomotive, was used at the powder works where fire, sparks, and heat were avoided in this dangerous environment. High-pressure air was charged into a “boiler,” and it ran until nearly empty, returning for re-charging at the power plant. The name Hercules comes from a potent and explosive black powder made by the California Powder Works. The company named their product after Hercules, the Greek mythological hero known for his strength, in order to signify how powerful the black powder was. What began as a California Powder Works plant site on the shores of San Pablo Bay grew into the company town of Hercules, which incorporated in 1900.Copyright
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Pinole Historical Society