Program

NYS Historic

Subject

Event

Location

Willow and North Warren St., Syracuse, NY

Lat/Long

43.052379, -76.151137

Grant Recipient

Onondaga Historical Association

On the evening of August 20, 1841 an alarm was given for a fire at the carpentry shop of Charles Goings, situated the near the Oswego Canal in downtown Syracuse. The fire had attracted a crowd of spectators, while firefighters arrived at the scene and went to work to control the blaze. Unbeknownst to the people there that night, there was a large supply of gunpowder being stored in the back of the building. As the crowd watched and firefighters worked to put out the flames, the building suddenly exploded, which demolished the building, extinguished the fire, and sent wooden projectiles into the crowd. At least 25 people were killed and 64 people were wounded, making this one of deadliest accidents in the city’s history.