Boiler Explosion Kills Five at Port Madison Sawmill
A tragic industrial accident at Meigs's steam sawmill claims the lives of five men, highlighting the dangers of early industrial milling in the region.
We learn by the Port Townsend Register that on the morning of the 18th, the boilers of Meigs's steam sawmill, at Port Madison, exploded, instantly killing five men, and seriously injuring one other. The accident occurred at an hour when there were but a few persons employed; otherwise, the destruction of life would undoubtedly have been much greater. The names of the killed are as follows: Wm. Roach, Engineer, Ireland; Thomas Means, farmer, Seattle; Capt. John Morton, late of Schooner Resolute; Wm. Thompson; Charles Sprecher, Oregon. Wounded, Frederick Baker. The cause of the explosion is supposed to have been caused by a scarcity of water in the boilers.
“The accident occurred at an hour when there were but a few persons employed, otherwise the destruction of life would undoubtedly been much greater.”
Port Madison, once a bustling company town and industrial hub, is now a quiet community on Bainbridge Island. The sawmill site, like many of the region's early economic engines, has long since vanished, leaving behind few traces of the dangerous, high-pressure labor that built the territory.
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