The
Fernandina Fires
By Charles Litrico
Photos courtesy of the
Amelia Island Museum of History
Earlier this summer, Florida was besieged with forest
fires that spread throughout the interior of the state. The destruction is still very
evident if you drive south on I-95.
Perhaps now is a good time to look back at two major fires that struck Fernandina in the
19th century and see what safety improvements resulted from their destruction.
The first major fire occurred in March of 1876. The greatest source of information on this
event is a newspaper account as follows:
"On the night of the 23rd ... fire broke out in a carpenter's shop located in the
business center of the place ... and spread so rapidly that the citizens were unable to
check its progress until nearly forty buildings had been destroyed. These covered nearly
the entire business portion of the city ... the buildings burned ... included the post
office, ... the city offices, ...the probate and county clerk's offices ... the office and
the store-house of the Charleston Steamship Company and the Observer printing office ...
the depot and wharves were saved by the opportune assistance of a steam tug." D.
Webster Dixon to the St. Albans Messenger. March 30, 1876.
 This photo from the
Florida State Archives shows the aftermath of the 1876 fire. |
Another account of the fire can be found in the
tattered remains of an old letter from the local group of Masons in which they were
appealing to other fellow Masons for aid:
"... our little "City by the Sea" was visited with a terrible
conflagration, laying in ashes the greater part of the business portion of the place. Our
Lodge did not escape this calamity; the building with all the furniture, jewels, organ and
everything found in a
well-regulated lodge were destroyed."
After this disaster, the residents of Fernandina began to look at ways of protecting their
buildings against fire. On August 5, 1876, an ordinance was passed that prohibited
erecting wooden buildings on Centre Street. The ordinance was a step in the right
direction, but it would provide little solace to those affected by another major fire just
seven years later.
The scene of the Fire of 1883 was reported in the Sep. 3 Florida Mirror as follows:
"Yesterday morning this city was the scene of a disastrous conflagration, destroying
the whole business part of the block south of Centre Street between Second and
Third..."
Most of the buildings burned were wooden structures that were erected before the 1876 fire
ordinance was passed.
Another fire struck less than two weeks later on September 11. Although smaller than the
earlier fire, it was large enough to destroy several\ buildings in the area of North Third
and Fourth Streets and Calhoun Street, including the Dell House and the Baptist Church.
A silver lining to the Fires of 1883 was that they helped to promote brick as the building
material of choice for any future downtown structures. An article in the Florida Mirror of
Sep. 22, 1883 stated:
 This photo taken from the
waterfront shows the devastation from another point of view. The Kydd Building (center) is
one of the few Centre Street buildings that survived the 1876 fire. |
"It is quite certain that, sooner or later, wooden buildings built in close proximity will be burned. Brick buildings have proved safer than any other class, and with metal roofs and window shutters, they are practically safe from without. Taking into view the difference in insurance, cost of repairs, frequent paintings, etc., it is better, and in the end cheaper, to erect brick buildings in the more closely occupied portions of a city." |
Another editorial in the September 8 Florida Mirror
predicted that "...handsome brick stores will be erected in the place of wooden
fire-traps, and in a year's time no trace of the present calamity will be left."
The 1883 fire was also instrumental in the establishment of a local Fire Department.
"Be it ordained by the Mayor and Council of the City of Fernandina: that a Fire
Department shall be organized by the Council for the City of Fernandina, and shall consist
of as much force and such officers as the council shall specify." Florida Mirror,
October 17, 1883
That same day, the City Council also amended the 1876 fire ordinance to read:
"...it shall be unlawful to build, erect or construct any wooden buildings, or
buildings covered (except the roof) with corrugated iron or tin, within that portion of
the city lying south of Broome Street, west of Fourth Street, and north of Beech
Street."
The 1883 Fire also prompted the construction of a more substantial waterworks system with
power pumps fueled by sawmill slabs.
Thanks to the actions taken by our city fathers after Fernandina's disastrous fires,
downtown buildings were better able to withstand the threat of fire. Updated fire
prevention laws and improved firefighting equipment have enabled many of these buildings
to remain standing for well over 100 years. We should consider ourselves very fortunate to
be able to view them today.