She Owned A Nitroglycerine Factory

  Mary Alford, aka Mrs Byron Alford has a unique place in history because she is the only woman ever to own a nitroglycerine factory.

Her husband was the one who built the factory back 1883 but she was not the type of wife to stay home and out of her husband's business.  Mary was a trained accountant who studied about explosives and helped him build the factory. 

Originally, Mr Byron Alford owned one of the largest oil fields in Pennsylvania which he began developing in the 1860's and by 1884 it was considered one of best producing fields in the country, producing over 83 percent of all oil produced in the United States.  At this time, explosives were used in oil fields to improve extraction of the product rather than used in warfare.

So in 1883, they chose the perfect location to build a factory for production of explosives which they could use in their oil fields or sell to other companies. At the time, making nitroglycerine was crude and dangerous because they had to mix sulfuric acid, nitric acid, and glycerin which formed a milky colored liquid. the liquid was added to wooden container with eighteen inches of cold water at the bottom. 

When the liquid hit the water,  red fumes are produced sounding like the hiss of geese. If everything worked properly, the nitroglycerine at the bottom of the wooden casket, it was then poured into an eight quart container and sold for $8.00.  They relied on the accuracy of thermometers of the time to maintain the temperatures needed for the whole process to be completed.

At the time, all nitroglycerine cans were transported by wagons because trains refused to allow them on board at all. She took over the day to day running in 1894 when his health began failing but once Byron Alford died, his wife became head of the factor.  She ordered and paid for the chemicals, managed the payroll, monitored shipping, showed visitors around, and kept it running.

In fact, she did such a great job of running it that within one year, she'd production to 3,000 pounds of nitroglycerine and 6000 pounds of dynamite a day. By 1899, she had the title of "The only woman in the world who owns and operates a dynamite factory".  This meant she was owned one of America's billion dollar oilfields.

 On the other hand, she built wooden buildings because they were much cheaper to build and replace should something accidentally blow.  At one point, an employee forgot and lit a match near the factory. She was noted for commenting that"you never knew when it would blow." and indeed the factory and her house which was only 80 yards from the factory both were damaged. Neighbors had to dig her, her husband, and their daughter out but they rebuilt the factory where it remained in the same place outside of Eldred, Pennsylvania until she died at the age of 77, in 1924.  Her daughter took over the business until she died in 1947 at the age of 79.