October 4, 1918: The Morgan Explosion

October 4, 1918: At 7:36 PM, the T.A. Gillespie Company Shell Loading Plant, making munitions for the U.S. effort in World War I, explodes on Cheesequake Creek in the Morgan section of Sayreville, Middlesex County, New Jersey.

One explosion led to another, and they went on all night. The fires started by the explosions could be seen for miles, including across the Arthur Kill in Staten Island, New York. Over 300 buildings were destroyed, including the one containing the company's records. For this reason, it's not known for sure how many people died, but the number is believed to be over 100.

I've lived my whole life in Middlesex County, and this is the greatest tragedy ever to befall Central Jersey. Today, the Morgan Marina and a housing development called the Highland House Apartments are on the site. It's a gated community, so it might be difficult to visit. As you might guess, it was pounded again by Hurricane Sandy on October 29, 2012.

A cemetery, where some of the victims -- just pieces, so they don't even know how many, but they think it's between 14 and 18 -- are buried under a large monument, is on Ernston Road, on the municipal border between Sayreville and Old Bridge. I used to pass it on the way to a job at a building on Ernston, next to U.S. Route 9.

"IN MEMORY OF THE UNIDENTIFIED SOULS

WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES

WHILE IN THE SERVICE OF THE

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

AT THE MORGAN SHELL LOADING PLANT

IN THE EXPLOSION OF

OCTOBER 4 -5 1918."

It was particularly poignant on April 15, 2009, the 20th Anniversary of the Hillsborough Disaster in England, at an FA Cup Semifinal at Hillsborough Stadium in Sheffield, Yorkshire, at which a similar number of people died, 96. Having to walk up Ernston from my bus stop in order to be on time for work at 10:30 AM, I passed the cemetery at 10:06 -- 3:06 PM British time, the time the match between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest was stopped due to the referee realizing what was happening in the stands.

UPDATE: A 97th victim later died from Hillsborough-induced injuries.

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October 4, 1918 was a Friday. The baseball season was over, cut short by government demands due to World War I. Professional basketball barely existed. Professional football did, but neither it nor college football played games on Fridays then. And the NHL season wouldn't begin for another 2 months. So there were no scores on this historic day.