Split Rock Quarry
New York · United States · Mine
A munitions plant exploded here on 12 July 1918, killing fifty men. Fifteen were never identified and were buried together.
On 12 July 1918 the munitions plant at Split Rock Quarry, west of Syracuse, New York, exploded. Fifty men were killed. Fifteen of them could not be identified and were buried in a common grave.
It remains one of the worst industrial disasters in the state, and it happened because the plant was making explosives for the war at a pace that left no room for safety.
More than eighty years later, figures are still described on the ledges and standing on the ruined rock crusher.
The detail that makes this site unlike any other in the archive is the colour. They are described glowing green and yellow, and that is exactly the staining that picric acid leaves. The men who worked with it turned yellow while they were alive. The explosive that killed them had already marked them.
The quarry is dangerous ground and the crusher ruins are unstable.
FAQ
Where is Split Rock Quarry located?
Split Rock Quarry is in New York, United States.
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Accounts are drawn from local folklore and visitor reports.