Seiler Brewery Explodes

Somewhere near 4 o'clock a.m., on April 30th, Mr. Peter Bobb, engineer for Mr. John Seiler, at the Lewisburgh Brewery, near Covington, Ky., started up his morning fires under the boilers, which were new ones, having been in use but eight months, and equipped with every possible safety appliance.  It is claimed that the boiler contained plenty of water.  About 5 o'clock, Mr. Bobb left the engine room, which was in a large frame shed in the rear of the main building, and went to the brewery proper to learn something about the work.  He had just started back when he was startled by the bursting of boilers.  The building was totally wrecked, and bricks were thrown 300 feet.  The heads of the boilers were carried 25 feet, and the boilers themselves were torn in two.  The rivets were broken off and the destruction was complete.  The falling debris crushed in the roof of the beer cellar.  The boilers cost nearly $1,000 each, and the building was worth some $1,500, making a total loss of about $3,000.  At the brewery it was said that their insurance did not cover a loss of this description.  Very fortunately no one was injured.  The cause of the explosion is attributed tot he inefficiency of the engineer.

from Locomotive, Vols. 7-8, 1886