October 4 - A Chain Reaction of Human Misery

Labor History in 2:00 · Oct 4, 2026 · 1m

On this day in Labor History the year was 1918.

That was the evening that a series of explosions began at the T.A. Gillespie Company near Morgan, New Jersey.

The explosions would destroy the plant and 300 buildings and kill an estimated 100 people.

The world was embroiled in war.

The Unites States had entered the global conflict the year before.

The nation’s factories were churning out munitions and other supplies for the war effort.

On that fateful evening at Gillespie, workers were loading shells at the sprawling complex of 700 buildings that covered more than 2,000 acres.

The initial…