Eddystone explosion
On April 10, 1917, four days after the United States declared war on Germany, an explosion at the Eddystone Ammunition Corporation's artillery shell plant in Eddystone, Pennsylvania, killed 139 people. The majority were women and girls who worked in the loading room, loading shells with black powder. 55 of the victims could not be identified and were buried in a mass grave. Hundreds more were injured. The victims were arguably among the first American casualties of World War I. The explosion was initially blamed on German saboteurs, and later on Russians. It may in fact have been an accident caused by malfunctioning equipment. Background The Eddystone Arsenal, built in 1916, was located near Chester, Pennsylvania, where the Eddystone Power Station now stands. At the time of the explosion it was reportedly manufacturing shells for the Russian White Army. About 380 women and girls worked in the plant's "F" Building. The company had placed newspaper ads specifically recruiting "girls" for the job. The building had three divisions: the pellet room, where girls made the black powder fuses that ran through the center of the shrapnel shells; the loading room, where the fuses were inserted and "pocket cups" at the bottom of