P5828

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Details

ID Number

P5828

Item Name

Image

Title

Fire of 1871 / Feu de 1871

Title (Fre)

Feu de 1871

Date

1871/10/13

Description

Grainy black and white photograph of the southwest corner of Ouellette Avenue and Sandwich Street following the Great Windsor Fire of 1871; on the right side of the photograph, the burnt shell of a building is visible; men, horses and fire trucks are standing amidst the rubble; the line of men and fire trucks continues into the street and out of the line of the photograph on the right; in the centre of the photograph is a steam pump engine hitched to a horse; buildings untouched by the fire are visible in the background.

History

The Great Windsor Fire started at about 3:00am on October 12, 1871. The fire began at the corner of Ouellette and Pitt Streets in the tailoring establishment of Dandy Fletcher whose tailoring iron sparked the blaze. A strong wind pushed the flames quickly westward and firefighters had little luck stopping the spread of the fire. Detroit's Steamer No. 4 was called in to help. By flooding a building with water, tearing down a frame building and aided by a lull in the wind, firefighters were finally able to bring the main blaze under control. Meanwhile, branch fires had caught and caused additional destruction. In the end, approximately 100 buildings, including banks, hotels and stores, were destroyed and losses, only partially insured, totalled over $100,000. The Great Fire of Windsor resulted in some improvements for the downtown core. Ouellette Avenue was widened from 50 to 75 feet and a new underground piping system was put in place. Three fire stations were built and the city was rebuilt with stone, rather than wood.

Place made

Canada - Ontario - Windsor

Collection Name

Museum Windsor

Subjects

Buildings / Immeubles

Destruction & pillage / Destruction et pillage

Fire / Incendies

Fire engines & equipment / Pompe à incendie & équipement

Fire fighters / Pompiers

Fire fighting / Lutter contre les incendies

Horses / Chevaux

Men / Hommes

Ouellette Ave. / Avenue Ouellette

Sandwich St. / Rue Sandwich