Peaceful Days Before They Planted the Dynamite

SeacoastNH.com Presents 
Historic Portsmouth #453

The explosion you've seen before. It was one of the first images that appeared in this column many long years ago. We've all heard about the July 22, 1905 explosion that ripped a chunk of land on the Piscataqua to bits.  But who weeps for Henderson's Point today?  (Continued below)

Engineers used 50 tons of dynamite to remove the 540-foot spit of land known locally as "Pull-and-be-Damned-Point". The largest explosion in history to that date removed a dangerous point of navigation in Portsmouth Harbor, opening the way for larger ships and for submarine development at the shipyard. A sizable crowd gathered to witness the event first hand while others, fearing the End of Days, quickly got out of town. Locals then headed to the Frank Jones brewery for a celebratory toast or two or three. (Courtesy Portsmouth Athenaeum and Strawbery Banke Museum)

BONUS CLOSE-UP

THE EXPLOSION Viewed from Portsmouth, NH