January 11, 1917: The Canadian Car and Foundry Company factory in Lyndhurst, Bergen County, New Jersey, catches fire, and eventually explodes. Since Lyndhurst was then known as Kingsland, it became known as the Kingsland Explosion.
It followed the Black Tom Explosion in nearby Jersey City 6 months earlier, which was definitely German sabotage. Kingsland might have been, but the evidence remains circumstantial.
Kingsland resident Theresa Louise "Tessie" McNamara, who operated the company switchboard, was credited with saving 1,400 lives. Despite the fire, she stayed at the switchboard, plugged in each of the buildings, and shouted the warning, “Get out or go up!” No one was killed in the fire as a result of her announcements, as opposed to the 7 who died at Back Tom, and the 100+ who died in the Morgan Explosion in nearby Sayreville, a year and a half later.
Fleeing 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. People in Manhattan with western views could see the fireworks.
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January 11, 1917 was a Thursday. Baseball and football were out of season. Professional basketball barely existed. This was the last season of the National Hockey Association, but it scheduled no games for this day. So there were no scores on this historic day.
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