On the morning of July 30, 1916, New York City was jarred awake by a huge explosion. Four people were killed, thousands of windows were blown out, and the Statue of Liberty was hit with debris.
A storage depot on Black Tom Island, which held two million tons of supplies destined for the Allies in Europe, had gone up in flames. The United States was technically still neutral, but war had come to her shores. The explosion was part of a sabotage campaign unleashed by the German government as soon as the war broke out in Europe. German sabotage was widespread. Horses being shipped to Europe were infected with anthrax. Explosions destroyed U.S. munitions factories. Fires broke out on ships headed to Europe with supplies.
In 1916, it was estimated that eight percent of the American population consisted of people of German descent. They brought their culture with them, and it was strong across the country. Some cities were almost entirely German and bore German names. Many cities had a Little Germany with German food, restaurants, and shops. The German ambassador promised that German immigrants “would rise up against the United States” if the nation entered the war.
In November 1916, North and South Dakotans were concerned about an epidemic of fires that destroyed elevators and warehouses in both states. Two phosphorus plants were destroyed. Germans came under suspicion for setting unexplained fires and other acts of vandalism. Three separate fires, assumed to be caused by German saboteurs, almost leveled the town of Lemmon. Three elevators and twenty businesses went up in flames. Vigilantes put the town under martial law. Strangers were automatically searched and watched carefully.
On this date in 1917, it was reported that two Germans with one hundred sticks of dynamite were “somewhere out in the Bad Lands” near Medora. The manager of the Consolidated Coal Company in Medora reported that two Germans had applied for work but never reported for duty. When they disappeared in the night, the dynamite disappeared with them. The culprits were seen carrying suitcases. Authorities believed they loaded the boxes of dynamite on a westbound train while it was switching in the yards. They transferred the dynamite to their suitcases, pitched the empty boxes out of the train, and disappeared.
The newspapers noted that “the affair has created considerable consternation in the Bad Lands.
Dakota Datebook written by Dr. Carole Butcher
Sources:
- Bismarck Tribune. “Vigilantes Still Patrol the Streets of Dakota Town.” Bismarck ND. 111/23/1916. Page 6.
- Fargo Forum and Daily Republican. “Germans With Dynamite Out in Bad Lands.” Fargo ND. 12/4/1917.Page 2.
- Sioux City Pioneer. “Lemmon to Rebuild.” Fort Yates ND. 12/13/1917. Page 7.
- War History Online. “Black Tom Explosion: German Sabotage on US Soil During WWI.” https://www.warhistoryonline.com/instant-articles/black-tom-explosion.htmlAccessed 10/29/2025.
- NPR. “During World War I, Germany Unleashed Terrorist Cell In America.” https://www.npr.org/2014/02/25/282439233/during-world-war-i-germany-unleashed-terrorist-cell-in-americaAccessed 10/29/2025.
