were soon silenced, leaving rescuers to eventually discover only the burned, smoldering remains of "brick, mortar and human bones ... promiscuously mingled". American Heritage magazine gives this account: The Boston Almanac and Business Directory notes: The Boston Globe describes the carnage more vividly: Victims Estimates of the number killed by the collapse and subsequent fire vary from 88 to 145. Most were recent immigrants, either Irish or Scots, many of them young women. Irish and Scots were the majority, and the casualty list is indicative of New England's labor force at that time. It includes Yankees from Maine and New Hampshire, and immigrants from Germany and Switzerland. All the churches of Lawrence — Baptists, Catholic, Congregationalist, Episcopalian, Methodist, Presbyterian, Unitarian, and Universalist — had parishioners to console after the disaster. Aftermath The disaster was determined to have been caused by a number of preventable factors. Ignoring already questionable load limits, extra textile machinery had been crowded into the upper floors of the factory. Investigators also discovered substandard construction. The brick walls were improperly mortared and supported. The iron columns supporting the floors were cheap and brittle but had been installed nonetheless. In the wake of the disaster, area ministers delivered "sermons on God's inscrutable wrath" but it was apparent that blame lay in the manner in which the factory was built and operated. The Scientific American wrote, "...there is now no doubt that the fall of the building was owing to the most gross negligence and want of fidelity in casting the columns." The tragedy became a rallying point to improve safety standards in industrial workplaces. It also inspired the popular sketch "The Tenth of January" by author Elizabeth Stuart Phelps Ward. David Nevins, Sr. bought out his partner and rebuilt the mill. After his death it passed to his sons, David Nevins, Jr. and Henry Cotton Nevins. See also 2013 Savar building collapse - The deadliest accidental structural collapse in modern history Grover Shoe Factory disaster List of industrial disasters References Bibliography External links Tourlawrence - a location-based documentary and interactive history trail about two sisters who worked in the Pemberton Mill in 1860. Collapsed buildings in the United States Industrial accidents and incidents in the United States Disasters in Lawrence, Massachusetts 1860 disasters in the United States 1860 disestablishments in Massachusetts Buildings and structures in Lawrence, Massachusetts History of Essex County, Massachusetts Textile mills in the United States