1885 Dynamite explosion
{{Short description|Roadside dynamite explosion in Ontario, Canada}}{{Infobox event
| partof = Trent–Severn Waterway construction
| map =
| date = {{start date|1885|9|4}}
| Time =
| Timezone =
| Location = Douro, Ontario, Canada
| coordinates = {{coord|44.537|-78.082|type:event_globe:earth_region:CA|display=}}
| cause =
| reported deaths = 2
}}
On the September 4, 1885 a wagon loaded with dynamite exploded at Douro, Ontario, Canada, killing two men and their horses.
The blast was felt {{convert|50|mi}} away. A historical plaque marks the location.
Background
File:87 Lock, Trent-Severn Waterway, Burleigh Falls.jpg
George Morton and James Simmons were transporting a wagon load of dynamite from Tweed, OntarioMetal plaque [https://readtheplaque.com/plaque/1885-dynamite-explosion-mangled-beyond-description 1885 Dynamite Explosion], installed by the Township of Douro-Dummer and the Ontario Heritage Trust, Douro-Dummer, near the intersection of Ontario Highway 28 County Road 8, Warsaw GPS 44.3691, -78.2239 to Burleigh Falls, Ontario to be used for the rock blasting of the Trent Canal lock.{{Cite news |last=Theobald |first=Harry |date=1960 |title=Retired Douro Farmer Recalls The Day That Dynamite Blast Near Lakefield Smashed Window in Campbellford |work=Peterborough Examiner |url=https://trentvalleyarchives.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/HGTV-August-2018-v-23-n-2-a.pdf}} They stayed overnight at a hotel in Indian River on September 3, 1885.
Explosion
Their load exploded at 9:45am on September 4, 1885 on the 6th Line (road) at Douro, Ontario, noted as being a corduroy road and rough to travel in poor weather.{{Cite news |date=4 Sep 1885 |title=Terrible Dynamite Explosion |work=Peterborough Daily Evening Review |url=http://images.ourontario.ca/Partners/FWIO/FWIO003203607_0125p.pdf}} Both men were killed in the blast and the only parts of the men that were found were "a finger, two tiny sections of a skull, a tiny piece of cheek identified by the whiskers, and what appeared to be a man's shoulder that was found hanging on the branch of a tree {{convert|300|ft}} distant." The blast blew the metal shoes off the horses hooves and broke windows in Selwyn, Ontario and Campbellford. The shock wave was felt in Tweed, {{convert|50|mi}} away.
Sources at the time describe a {{convert|8|ft}} deep by {{convert|60|ft}} wide crater, and 1960s sources report a {{convert|10|ft}} deep and {{convert|70|ft}} wide crater being left by the blast and trees were flattened in a radius that varied between {{convert|50|yd}} and {{convert|75|yd}}.