Terrific Powder Explosion - 1882

STEDMAN, JOYCE, PHILLIPS

Posted By: cheryl moonen (email)
Date: 4/18/2017 at 21:13:18

Terrific Powder Explosion.

OSKALOOSA, Ia., January 6.-A terrific explosion of 500 kegs of powder, the property of the American Powder Company, occurred yesterday afternoon. It was caused by three boys, John Phillips, son of the mayor, Gerald Johannes and John Stedman, who used the side of the powder magazine, a wooden structure, as a target for rifle practice. They were killed, and their bodies, frightfully mangled and burned, were hurled from 50 to 200 yards away. Nearly all the glass windows in the business quarter were broken by the concussion and many houses in the southern part of the city were badly damaged. Losses will aggregate not less than $20,000. Many persons were injured by falling glass and debris. The shock was felt at Monroe, a distance of thirty miles.

Source: The Galveston Daily News, Galveston, Texas, Saturday, January 7, 1882; Pg. 4, Column 5