The Great Buckley Fire Wipes Out East Main Street
A lumber town’s business district is reduced to ash after a mill fire jumps the tracks and consumes an entire city block.
The business part of East Main street in Buckley was burned to the ground tonight between the hours of 6 and 9. A bed of ashes and smoldering fire stretches from the railroad right-of-way to Cottage avenue. The fire is attributed to sparks from the mill of the White River Shingle Company, located at the depot, which set fire to the roof of the Buckley Lumber Company's store. The wind was blowing at the time, which made the whole street on the south side and the business part an easy victim. Heroic efforts to save goods were made; hundreds of men carried merchandise to a place of safety, and many now suffer from scorched faces. Coke Ewing is confined to his bed with painful burns on his neck and face. The Buckley State bank, having a fire-proof safe, plans to open tomorrow at Taylor & Joynt's office. Many firms will do business tomorrow from improvised stores.
“Little effort was made to quench the fire after it got fairly started. Hundreds of men carried goods to a place of safety.”
This 1892 disaster highlights the extreme vulnerability of timber-built towns that relied heavily on mills for their economic existence. Today, fire codes and improved firefighting infrastructure have replaced the frantic bucket brigades of the late 19th-century frontier.
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