The great fire of Portland, Maine, sometimes known as the 1866 great fire of Portland, occurred on July 4, 1866—the second Independence Day after the end of the American Civil War. Five years before the Great Chicago Fire, this was the greatest fire yet seen in an American city. It started in a boat house on Commercial Street, likely caused by a firecracker or a cigar ash. The fire spread to a lumber yard and on to a sugar house, then spread across the city, eventually burning out on Munjoy Hill in the city's east end. Two people died in the fire and 10,000 people were made homeless. 1,800 buildings were burned to the ground. This included the federal Exchange Building by which was replaced with the custom house. Soon after the fire, Portland native and acclaimed poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow described his old home town: "Desolation, desolation, desolation. It reminded me of Pompeii, that ‘sepult city."[1]
Ruins of the Great Fire at Portland, Me., 1866, by J. E. Baker
Aftermathedit
More than 600 buildings were constructed in four months after the fire.[2]
Referencesedit
^"The Night Portland Burned". Portland Press Herald.
^"The Night Portland Burned". Portland Press Herald.
"Great fire of Portland 1866". Maine Memory Network. Maine Historical Society. Retrieved 2009-07-22.
Horton, Linda (June 16, 2008). "Portland, ME Fire, Jul 1866 - Terrible Conflagration". gendisasters.com. from the original on 2012-02-26. Retrieved 2009-07-22.
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1866, great, fire, portland, maine, this, article, includes, list, references, related, reading, external, links, sources, remain, unclear, because, lacks, inline, citations, please, help, improve, this, article, introducing, more, precise, citations, january,. This article includes a list of references related reading or external links but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations Please help to improve this article by introducing more precise citations January 2007 Learn how and when to remove this template message The great fire of Portland Maine sometimes known as the 1866 great fire of Portland occurred on July 4 1866 the second Independence Day after the end of the American Civil War Five years before the Great Chicago Fire this was the greatest fire yet seen in an American city It started in a boat house on Commercial Street likely caused by a firecracker or a cigar ash The fire spread to a lumber yard and on to a sugar house then spread across the city eventually burning out on Munjoy Hill in the city s east end Two people died in the fire and 10 000 people were made homeless 1 800 buildings were burned to the ground This included the federal Exchange Building by which was replaced with the custom house Soon after the fire Portland native and acclaimed poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow described his old home town Desolation desolation desolation It reminded me of Pompeii that sepult city 1 Ruins of the Great Fire at Portland Me 1866 by J E BakerAftermath editMore than 600 buildings were constructed in four months after the fire 2 References edit The Night Portland Burned Portland Press Herald The Night Portland Burned Portland Press Herald History of Portland Maine 1886 Archived 2006 05 01 at Bibliotheca Alexandrina Summers Lydia B ed 1999 Portland Greater Portland Landmarks Great fire of Portland 1866 Maine Memory Network Maine Historical Society Retrieved 2009 07 22 Horton Linda June 16 2008 Portland ME Fire Jul 1866 Terrible Conflagration gendisasters com Archived from the original on 2012 02 26 Retrieved 2009 07 22 nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to 1866 Great fire of Portland Maine 43 39 5 N 70 15 25 W 43 65139 N 70 25694 W 43 65139 70 25694 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title 1866 great fire of Portland Maine amp oldid 1185289149, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
