The Great Fire / Le Grand incendie

The Great Fire / Le Grand incendie (HM23L5)

Location: Augusta, ME 04330 Kennebec County
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Country: United States of America
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N 44° 18.928', W 69° 46.438'

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Inscription

The Museum in the Streets

On the morning of September 17, 1865, a fire began in the new, still unoccupied Dr. H. H. Hill building on the east side of Water Street, above Oak Street. An arsonist later convicted of setting a Portland fire was suspected, although nothing was ever proved. By the time the fire was brought under control at mid-day, it had consumed 81 buildings in downtown, including both sides of Water Street. Only heroic efforts by firemen and citizen volunteers (both men and women) using the city's new steam fire engine "Cushnoc" and the older hand-pump "Pacific"stopped the fire from sweeping north of Bridge Street. Hallowell, Gardiner, and Pittston engines aided in the effort. Out of this desolation rose the fine granite and brick buildings you see on Water Street today.

Le matin du 17 septembre 1865, un incendie se déclencha dans le nouveau bâtiment du Dr. H.H. Hill encore inoccupé côté Est de la rue Water, au dessus de la rue Oak. On soupçonna un pyromane qui fut plus tard condamné comme incendiaire à Portland, quoique rien n'ait jamais été prouvé. Lorsque l'incendie fut enfin contrôlé à midi, il avait détruit 81 bâtiments du centre ville, en particulier les deux côtés de Water Street. Il fallut des efforts héroïques aux pompiers et citoyens bénévoles (hommes et femmes) qui employèrent le nouveau
camion de pompiers à vapeur Cushnoc et l'ancienne pompe à main Pacific pour empêcher que l'incendie n'atteigne la rue Bridge au nord. Des camions de Hallowell, Gardiner et Pittson participèrent à cet effort. De cette désolation naquirent les superbes bâtiments en brique et granit que l'on peut voir aujourd'hui dans Water Street.


[Photo caption reads]
Water Street in ruins, 1865
Details
HM NumberHM23L5
Tags
Placed ByAugusta Historic Preservation Commission, Kennebec Savings Bank, and the Maine Community Foundation
Marker ConditionNo reports yet
Date Added Friday, December 8th, 2017 at 10:01pm PST -08:00
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Locationbig map
UTM (WGS84 Datum)19T E 438277 N 4907203
Decimal Degrees44.31546667, -69.77396667
Degrees and Decimal MinutesN 44° 18.928', W 69° 46.438'
Degrees, Minutes and Seconds44° 18' 55.68" N, 69° 46' 26.28" W
Driving DirectionsGoogle Maps
Area Code(s)207
Which side of the road?Marker is on the right when traveling North
Closest Postal AddressAt or near 253 Water St, Augusta ME 04330, US
Alternative Maps Google Maps, MapQuest, Bing Maps, Yahoo Maps, MSR Maps, OpenCycleMap, MyTopo Maps, OpenStreetMap

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