Historical Fires

Historical fires are noted throughout time because they impact lives and property. The materials used for building were for convenience and ease of construction. Not for fire prevention. Thus after a fire of historical dimensions, rebuilding techniques didn't change.

Living conditions contributed to fire starting. Primitive lighting and heating, cramped housing, carelessness with incendiary items, etc. Plus uncontrollable circumstances such as weather: lightning, dry conditions, wind, etc.

In the Old West, some historical fires have become quite memorable. For instance:

• St. Louis- May 17, 1849: Started on Mississippi River steamboats. Spread to 23 other steamboats, plus other vessels. Then to land: 430 structures destroyed. 2 persons, plus the fire captain killed.⁵
• Chicago - October 9, 1871: 18,000 buildings destroyed, 100,000 became homeless, almost 300 died.¹
• San Francisco - 
1. May 3, 1851: 2000 structures burned, uncounted people die. Many fires prior, but this was known as the "Great Fire."⁸
2. April 18, 1906: Began with the earthquake, but surprisingly, much - if not most - of the damage was from fires. Over 30, over 3 days!⁴

• Vancouver, B.C., Canada - June 13, 1886: A land-clearing brush fire started it, only a few buildings escaped! "12 persons fell victim... a vast number were fearfully burned."⁹
• Bakersfield, California - July 7, 1889: 196 buildings burnt down, one man killed, 1500 people made homeless.¹⁰

The Town Beginnings Lead to Tombstone's Historical Fires

Fires were a dangerous occurrence in Tombstone's history. Especially in the 1800s. New arrivals used  easily available materials for construction: wood-frame and canvas.

In the springtime, predominate winds come in, blowing up to 40 MPH. They're generated from weather systems coming through from West to East, North of Arizona. Humidity then decreases even further. When a fire occurs, these winds spread the flames.

Usually very little, if any rain in the Arizona Spring season. Summer rains usually don't begin until early July. In Springtime, when we hear the fire engines start down the highway - it always make us a little nervous! Or when you look out the window and see smoke curling up from mountains in the distance. 

Imagine what a scare we get when our cell phones get that alarm message! It's happened!! Emergency Alert! Thank goodness it wasn't as bad as it seemed, and we really didn't need to evacuate. Phew!

But two major historical fires in Tombstone had severe downtown effects. One resulted in vast devastation. We'll review the fires that affected the city of Tombstone.

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Water Needed

Tombstone Arizona is high desert - the Chihuahuan Desert. Hardwoods as building material weren't readily available here. Nearby mountains had timber, but access to it wasn't very easy. The rainfall totals and climate also affect the type of mountain trees that grew. Click for Those Types of Trees>

And water wasn't abundant. As a new miner, entering Tombstone in 1879, you'd have a few concerns:

• Where to get water!
• How to get/make a permanent shelter or home

A few natural spring sources were near. But some exploitative men ruled over the best one, charging outrageous prices for water. Although officially named Watervale, Miners nicknamed the place "Gouge-Eye."⁶ Two other nearby wells had water. But they were unreliable at the driest time of year.

Tombstone Becomes an Arizona City

Tombstone First Settled⁶

The first settled area of Tombstone, in 1879, called Gird Camp, was often called Upper Town. (Today locals still call town: "Uptown.") Folks coming in first pitched a tent or built a rustic lean-to. Only some built adobe houses.

The first merchant, John Allen, opened a wood-framed/tent-like store and boarding-house. Then restaurants and saloons quickly opened. The earliest were constructed of canvas with wood framing:

• Mt. Hood Saloon opened in a canvas tent on Allen Street, between 4th & 5th. Sylvester Comstock and Charles Brown began this enterprise in early 1879.
• Two other tent saloons started in 1879: the Bank Exchange Saloon and Doling's Saloon

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Yell Fire! Major Structure Fires

Tombstone Fires⁶

Tombstone's historical fires ranged from limited to some that damaged the entire town!

With so many canvas and wood framed structures - seems amazing there weren't more devastating historical fires! But consider other contributing fire danger factors :

• No water piping system
• No fire-fighting equipment
• Careless work methods
• Crowded-in conditions

These details contributed to fire-starting possibilities on any given day. Add in a few more circumstances = trouble:

• The well-known Arizona weather: "dry heat" - very low humidity increases fire danger
• Spring-time weather patterns mentioned already, producing typically windy days

In the early days of Tombstone, three fires sprung up before the water company and Fire Departments were well equipped:

• June 22, 1881 - Biggest Tombstone historical fire so far. Started in front of the Arcade Saloon on Allen Street, just East of the Oriental.
• May 16, 1882 - Think of this as the Big One's Precursor! Began in a home/boarding house on Toughnut St., between 2nd & 3rd...

1. Mrs. Morton rented out rooms in her home. She was elderly, in ill-health. That evening she walked to the kitchen and tripped. She dropped her coal-oil lamp, which burst into flames. 
2. She wobbled toward her front door yelling for help. Local lawyer, Mr. Webster Street, was relaxing across the street on his porch. He helped get her outside, as the house burnt down.
3. The fire department got there, but couldn't contain it from spreading to six other buildings. Mr. & Mrs. Grant's American Lodging House was one destroyed. They had only just paid off their mortgage! Very sad!
   

The Worst Fire in Tombstone History

May 1882 Fire^6,11

• May 26, 1882 - Tivoli Gardens, a saloon on the North side of Allen Street, between 4th & 5th. Behind there a fire started and quickly spread to a garden's canvas roof. In no time at all that whole block was up in flames. Then it jumped South extending to Toughnut.
• It spread in areas north of Fremont. Blocks of downtown buildings were burning! The fire department did what it could with water trucks and bucket brigades. The city water system was being built, but not yet online: fire hydrants not available.
  
• Some buildings escaped. Milton Joyce successfully preserved the Oriental, rebuilt after last year's fire. Schieffelin Hall and the Epitaph Office on Fremont were saved. Mollie Fly whisked lodging fittings to a safe place, saving her boardinghouse in the end. Nellie Cashman organized her own bucket brigade, saving her American Hotel. The Russ House also escaped.
  
• The deluxe hotels along Allen Street - Browns, the Cosmopolitan and the Grand were all destroyed. None rebuilt. The Occidental, Alhambra, Campbell & Hatch, and Hafford's Saloons all burned. The Golden Eagle Brewery was gone - but rebuilt as the Crystal Palace.
  
• The County Recorder's office fell in those flames. That's where the historic City Hall now stands.
  
• One person was found dead in the charred rubble. 
• More details on the two Major Historical Tombstone Fires>

Photo Below

Looking Northwest from Corner of 5th & Allen

Golden Eagle Rubble Center Bottom

Each time Tombstone rebuilt. The towns-people invested great energy into this town!

An empty lot remains today, where the Cosmopolitan Hotel had been! A new building replaced the Grand Hotel, with sections for tenants. Outside wall arches are parts that remain. View them today on the front walls of three businesses along the South side of Allen Street.

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Fire & Water

Water to Town

The Sycamore Water Company started delivering water to Tombstone in April 1880. By autumn they had water mains and fire hydrants at intersections.⁶

The Tombstone Water, Mill and Lumber Company formed on June 15, 1881, to supply water. Sycamore Water balked about the competition. They stopped placing hydrants and giving free water for the town's needs.⁶

The Huachuca Water Company formed in late 1880, completing water projects in summer of 1882. Their test fire hydrant was ready on Allen and 6th. The Fire Company connected a fire-hose.⁶ It passed: "water pressure met expectations."⁷

They installed more water mains - completing all Tombstone streets. On June 26, 1882 city fire hydrants were successfully tested. City water was here! But a month too late for May's devastating fire.⁶

Fire Protection

On September 1, 1880 volunteer firefighters organized Tombstone Engine Company No.1. They elected officers. Well-known names of the first election were Wyatt Earp as Secretary, James Vogan as Treasurer, and Milton Joyce as Assistant Foreman.⁶

With the June 22nd fire they went into action. Water wagons were filled from hydrants. Engine Company No. 1's bucket brigades fought fiercely. Lack of fire equipment exposed the Engine Company's weakness.⁶ They couldn't contain the burn.

Motivation surged to form the Rescue Hook and Ladder Company on June 26, 1881. They bought a used horse-drawn fire engine from San Francisco for $300.⁶

Meanwhile, Engine Company No. 1 built their firehouse. Completed August 1881 - this historic building is still there, on Toughnut St., between 5th & 6th Streets. By Thanksgiving 1881, they had an engine, plus two fire-hose carts.⁶

Both volunteer fire companies had uniforms. Most important - with two water companies in town, they had high pressure water systems to effectively fight fires!

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More Fires in Tombstone History

July 20, 1882 - Scary Historical Fire!

Most people were in bed on July 20th when the fire whistle sounded! Fire was blasting through the New Orleans Restaurant on the Southeast corner of Toughnut & 4th.

Next door was a truck-house for the new Hook & Ladder Company building. That was going up in flames! People ran out into the street in panic.

But now with the fire company's access to quick water with great pressure - the fire was out in 20 minutes. One man suffered serious burns. Billy Fee was his name.

But over-all everyone gave a sigh of relief!

Historical Tombstone Mining Fires

Many of the local historical mines suffered fire break-outs in production equipment:¹¹

• The Grand Central saw destructive fire on May 26, 1886. Flames lit into the mine's shaft and pump hoist housing. So hot, the metal parts melted and twisted. Undamaged parts were only good for scrap. All that could burn - did. For days noxious gas seeped from the mine. Areas caved in.
• The Contention mine and all supporting buildings were destroyed in a December 21, 1891 fire.
• The Tranquility Mine lit up on January 11, 1906 - wiping out its hoist and frame-work. 

1. And it happened again on March 7, 1948! 

• The Lucky Cuss had a similar fire on November 28, 1907 - took 8 months to get back on-line.
• The shaft of the Silver-Thread mine burned on February 11, 1934. 
• Another mine shaft - the Oregon/Stonewall burned on May 7, 1967. 
• The Toughnut Mine shaft burned the afternoon of January 13, 1957. Possibly started by adolescents, quick firefighter action saved it from spreading as a wildfire.

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More Fires Through the Years

More Historical Fires Through The Years¹¹

• September 14, 1888 - The Occidental Hotel, Northeast corner of 4th & Allen, burned down. Built 5 years earlier, after the major city fire. Started by an overturned oil lamp. Charred remains stayed there for years.
• July 2, 1915 - With prohibition, many Tombstone structures fell into disrepair. The historic Fly Boardinghouse & Photo Gallery caught fire. No hope for saving! Many early Tombstone and Arizona photos were lost. A resident was badly burned.⁶ [The current O.K. Corral Gunfight Site building is a re-creation.]

• A fire hit one of Tombstone's historical newspapers - The Prospector, on July 26, 1917. Caused by lightning. They still published by pulling an old hand press from storage.
  
• On September 10, 1917, the home of Dr. Randolph was gone. On the hillside across the Tombstone gulch - the oldest, nicest home - now ashes. 
• May 7, 1919 the Sunnyside Hotel burned down.
  
• March 23, 1921 - A large Tombstone conflagration, possibly from train sparks. Blinn Lumber was taken, and McPherson's ice storage, also Sheriff Hood's property.
  
• May 20, 1924 - Biggest fire since 1882. At the corner of 5th & Allen, traveling West along the South side of Allen Street to 4th. Some buildings there were saved.
  
• May 26, 1942 - Fire took the Southeast corner of 5th & Allen Street. Down went the historic Owl Cafe (former Bucket of Blood Saloon) & Tourist Hotel and adjacent bowling alley.
  
• Loma de Plata burns on October 9, 1953. Built in 1902 on Empire Hill above town, by Grand Central mining engineer E.B. Gage.
• Another major business district fire consumed part of Allen Street on May 23, 1957. Began in the Cattleman & Miners Bar, zoomed through attics and almost got the Crystal Palace - but was stopped there. Three businesses were gone.
• A Russ House fire took its insides on January 20, 1959. The outer walls remained.
  
• Scattered fires were set around town during Helldorado 1995. The Marshal commented there isn't an arson problem but "there are a lot of crazies out there."
  
• June 6, 1998 - Another significant fire destroyed Virgil Earp's Historical Home. 

1. Virgil's Home and Property was on the Southwest corner of 1st and Fremont Streets.
   

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Notable History Furthers More Historical Fires

In 1914 Arizona prohibition ended all local saloon businesses. The town was suffering financially. Owners in default on property taxes tore off building roofs, which exempted them from taxes! Some places burnt down.⁶

For Tombstone's 50-year anniversary, the council decided on the festival "Helldorado" - for October 1929. About 6,400 attendees came over!⁶ Most were joyful and hopeful...

Until the news later...

It was Thursday, October 24, 1929 - Black Thursday

The Day the American Stock Market Crashed

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Then by 1932's summer 150 miners were at work. A few mines reopened, and in 1939 the government supported silver again. The price was set about 71 cents an ounce for two years, with possible renewal. Town stability at hand. But then two fires at two different Tombstone mine claims made further set-back.⁶

World War II began. A few Tombstone buildings of significant historical note burned down. Lead was needed by the war effort. Locally mined in 3 areas:⁶

1. Nearby town of Charleston
2. 5 miles South of Tombstone off the Charleston Road
3. East of Tombstone at the Extension Mine in Emerald Gulch. 

At war's end, the Federal Government had a program for mining exploration and ore purchase for five years. But six more fires plagued mine claims during those years.⁶

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Fires are a terrible thing. They destroy works that people have created and put labor into. Often they bring financial crunches and even ruin. But Tombstone has recovered again and again, from some devastating fires. This is just one of the reasons it has that well-known nickname - The Town Too Tough to Die! 

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References

¹ Rayfield, J.A. (1997). Tragedy in the Chicago fire and triumph in the architectural response. Northern Illinois University Libraries funded by the Illinois State Library. Retrieved from lib.niu.edu/1997/iht419734.html

² Tobriner, S. (April 18th, 2006) What really happened in San Francisco in the earthquake of 1906. Conference. Retrieved from www.1906eqconf.org/plenarySessions.htm

³ Parsons, George W. (1996). A tenderfoot in Tombstone. The private journal of George Whitwell Parsons: The turbulent years, 1880-82. p 72, Westernlore Press, Tucson AZ.

⁴ Scawthorn, C., Eidinger, J., & Schiff, A., eds. (2005). Fire following earthquake. Reston, Virginia: ASCE, NFPA. ISBN 9780784407394. Archived from the original on September 28, 2013 & July 10, 2019.

⁵ City of St. Louis (2011-2019). The great fire of 1849. Fire Department History. Retrieved from stlouis-mo.gov/government/departments/public-safety/fire/fire-department-history.cfm

6 Bailey, L.R. (2004). Tombstone, Arizona: "Too tough to die" The rise, fall, and resurrection of a silver camp; 1878 to 1990. Westernlore Press, Tucson, Arizona. A prime general resource.

7 Daily Epitaph, June 28, 1882.

8 SFMuseum (n.d.) Early history of the San Francisco Fire Department. Virtual Museum of the City of San Francisco. Retrieved from sfmuseum.net/hist1/fire.html

9 Roper, E. (1857-1891). By track and trail: A journey through Canada: With numerous original sketches by the author. London & Calcutta: W.H. Allen & Co. 1891.

10  Maynard, J. (1997). Bakersfield: A centennial portrait. Encino, California: Cherbo Publishing Group. ISBN 1-882933-19-2.

11 Newspaper clippings thanks to our subscription at: Search at https://www.newspapers.com/

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