California the Cradle of the Dynamite Industry

The American cradle of this new industry was to be San Francisco.  In 1868 Alfred Nobel sold the exclusive United States patent for the manufacture and sale of dynamite to the Giant Powder Company, which immediately constructed the first American commercial dynamite factory in San Francisco’s Rock House Canyon, now Glen Park. It was destroyed in an 1869 explosion. Operations soon recommenced on a 100-acre site in the sand dunes south of Golden Gate Park. 

The men of California Powder Works immediately saw the competitive threat to their black powder business. They needed a product to compete with Giant’s Nobel-patented dynamite. In 1869, with the transcontinental railroad completed, James Howden returned to San Francisco with a reputation as one of its best chemists. Funded by California Powder, he proceeded to set up a nitroglycerine factory on a site on the southeast corner of Golden Gate Park. 

Howden’s product used mealed black powder from the Santa Cruz factory as the “dope” to absorb the nitroglycerine. This formulation was cleverly trade-named “Black Hercules”, invoking the mythical hero of great strength who could slay Giants. Giant Powder immediately sued to protect its patent, ultimately losing at the Supreme Court in 1880. Bitter feelings persisted for years between the men of the two firms. 

The American cradle of this new industry was to be San Francisco.  In 1868 Alfred Nobel sold the exclusive United States patent for the manufacture and sale of dynamite to the Giant Powder Company, which immediately constructed the first American commercial dynamite factory in San Francisco’s Rock House Canyon, now Glen Park. It was destroyed in an 1869 explosion. Operations soon recommenced on a 100-acre site in the sand dunes south of Golden Gate Park.