Name/Title
Powder Works workers #2 (Mariotti)Description
The first large industry for Pinole was the California Powder Works. It located bayside after the Northern Railway (later Southern Pacific and now Union Pacific) arrived in 1879. The explosives industry and railroad stimulated business and population growth, attracting immigrants from Portugal, Ireland, Italy, and Germany. Working at the powder plant was dangerous, and occasionally deadly. On May 22, 1895, the nitroglycerin house of the California Powder Works was destroyed by an explosion that killed 14 workers. Every person about the mills was thrown down by the tremendous force of the explosion. Huge trees were thrown half a mile into San Pablo Bay. Nitroglycerin tanks weighing a ton apiece were found 500 yards from the explosion site. From 1881 until 1919, 59 lives were lost by explosions.Copyright
Copyright Holder
Pinole Historical Society