Burned to Bone, Shoes Intact: The Sarah Dixon Midnight Blast

Burned to Bone, Shoes Intact: The Sarah Dixon Midnight Blast

The Columbia River returned a body five days after a boiler tore apart the sternwheeler Sarah Dixon on the night of January 18, 1912, with every stitch burned away except the victim’s leather shoes-buckled in place. Three men died, the company paid $3,000 total, and the boat was back in service within eighteen months; what force could strip clothing and spare shoes in the same instant?

In this episode, we lay out the facts of the disaster and the vessel’s life before and after that night, from construction and electric lighting to collisions, sinkings, and the families who ran the line, asking whether the official ruling of accidental carelessness really fits the visible evidence.

Person: Silas Knowles Date: January 18, 1912 (explosion); January 23, 1912 (body surfaced) Location: Columbia River Event: Boiler explosion on the sternwheeler Sarah Dixon Settlement: $3,000 paid by the owning company

- The Sarah Dixon was launched in 1892, measured 145 feet long, 26 feet wide, and had a hold 6.5 feet deep. - The vessel was licensed to carry 200 passengers and was fitted with Crouch electric lighting installed by M.G. Morgan. - The boiler was half-inch steel rated for 165 pounds per square inch and engines eventually rated at 400 horsepower after an 1806 rebuild. - Three men died in the explosion; the captain was found five months later 20 miles downstream and the first mate was never definitively located. - The company returned the Sarah Dixon to service within 18 months after raising and rebuilding the boat.

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