Hazardville, Connecticut: When Gunpowder Made—and Destroyed—a Town

January 14, 1913. Hazardville, Connecticut. A winter morning at the old powder mills, now operating under the Hercules Powder name for exactly 30 days. Workers Charles Blunden and Jacob Stocker went about their routines, same as they had for years. The machinery hummed. The river flowed past stone walls built to contain disasters. Then four blasts ripped through the mill in rapid succession. The sound reached Hartford, over 20 miles away.

TIMELINE
1835: The story begins in 1835, along the Scantic River in northern Connecticut.
1843: By 1843, Augustus Hazard was the principal owner.
1854: In 1854, the residents of the village held a town meeting and voted to rename their community.
1855: On April 4th, 1855, 23-year-old Horace Hazard was working at his father's powder mill when an explosion killed him instantly.
1868: Augustus Hazard was 66 years old when he died in 1868, 13 years after Horace's death.
1913: On January 14, 1913, an errant spark ignited a chain reaction.

WHY THIS MATTERS
The story of Hazardville is a reminder that the events that shaped America didn't always happen in the biggest cities. What unfolded here left marks on the community that are still visible today. The full story is more complicated, and more human, than the version most people know.

Episode 190 | Hometown History | Hosted by Shane Waters

Hometown History explores forgotten stories from small-town America. The overlooked events, hidden triumphs, and buried tragedies that shaped the country we live in. New episodes every Tuesday. Find every episode at mythsandmalice.com/hometown-history

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