100 years ago this week, 25 tons of dynamite exploded in Communipaw, New Jersey, killing 24 people and injuring hundreds. The explosion was so big that buildings in Manhattan shook, and four windows blew out in the Statue of Liberty’s crown.

So people naturally wondered how New York’s dynamite is being stored. How much dynamite does the city have, anyway? How is it transported? What are the rules for handling it? This article answered those questions, and examines what happened in Communipaw.

WHERE AND HOW NEW YORK KEEPS ITS HIGH EXPLOSIVES: Most of It Is Anchored Out in the Harbor and the Rest Is Housed in the City in Small Quarters. (PDF)

From February 5, 1911