Mickey Starling
reporter3@greenepublishing.com
A year before the "great flood" of 1948, tobacco was a big business in Madison County and it continued to be an important crop for farmers in the area for many years after the unprecedented flooding. On the calm Saturday afternoon of Jan. 31, the American Sumatra Tobacco Company had approximately $800,000 of tobacco stored in their warehouse, located at the corner of Pinckney and Shelby Streets, in Madison.
The serenity of the afternoon was soon shattered by an explosion within the warehouse that was so powerful that it shattered windows for blocks near the explosion. The subsequent fire burned ferociously for two hours before firefighters conquered the blaze. Besides the drying tobacco, the fire had plenty of fuel in the form of stacks of cheesecloth. The cloths were in storage for use in the following summer's shade tobacco crops.
Fortunately, no one was in the building at the time of the explosion, but two young boys were passing by at exactly the wrong moment. The impact of the blast blew the boys across the street. Another young lady was standing nearby and she received minor lacerations from flying glass, which required a few stitches. The boys were amazingly uninjured by the incident.
The cause of the explosion was thought to have resulted from the ignition of carbon bisulfide, which is used in the fumigation of tobacco. The warehouse was restored and continued its operation for many years.
Information for this article was taken from Elizabeth Sim's book, "The History of Madison County, Florida."