Histories The Night the Churches Burned Fond du Lac County, Wisconsin | |
|
|
last modified: 11 Nov 2001 ![]() St. Joseph Church destroyed by fire in 1908. [Note that church faced Marr St.] ![]() Congregation Church destroyed by fire 1908 Return to ![]() |
September 25, 1908 FOND DU LAC SWEPT BY $200,000 FIRE EXTRA! EXTRA! The fire which caused such destruction, was centered at the corner of Second and Marr streets, and totally destroyed 2 churches, one residence and the Crescent Garage, while severely damaging another church and several residences. The Cresent garage, which was the origin of the blaze, was at one time an opera house. The building had been converted to a garage for those few local residents who already owned automobiles. The amazing part of this story, is that the two churches destroyed were located two blocks apart, and flames were carried on the wind from one church to another. The hidden story is the fact that the city only had two fire engines, and with one at the Cresent Garage and another at St. Joseph's Church, there was no fire truck to send to the Congregation Church when the Church caught fire. By 1997 standards, this fire would have caused $3,500,000 in structural damage alone.
Here are the headlines of stories regarding the fires, and the aftermath of this devastation to the
Fond du Lac community:
September 25, 1908 September 26, 1908 If you have corrections or additions to share, please contact Tracy Reinhardt by email at fondygenie@charter.net or at (920) 929-8538.
RootsWeb is funded and supported by
Ancestry.com and our loyal RootsWeb community.
Learn more.
Disclaimer | Privacy Statement These electronic pages may not be reproduced in this format for profit or presentation by any other organization or persons without the permission of Tracy Reinhardt Copyright © 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003 by Tracy Reinhardt
RootsWeb is funded and supported by
Ancestry.com and our loyal RootsWeb community.
Learn more.
** Ruth Shaw Worthing, The History of Fond du Lac County, as told by its Place-Names, 1976. ** The History of Fond du Lac County, Wisconsin, Chicago: Western Historical Company, 1880. ** Portrait and Biographical Album of Fond du Lac County, Wisconsin, Chicago: Acme Publishing Company, 1889. ** A. T. Glaze, Incidents and Anecdotes of Early Days and History of Business in the City and County of Fond du Lac from Early Times to the Present, Fond du Lac: P. B. Haber Printing Company, 1905. ** Maurice McKenna, ed., History of Fond du Lac County, Chicago: S. J. Clarke Publishing Company, 1912. ** Wisconsin Volunteers: War of the Rebellion 1861-1865 ** Plat Book of Fond du Lac County, Wisconsin, C. M. Foote & Co. 1893
RootsWeb is funded and supported by
Ancestry.com and our loyal RootsWeb community.
Learn more.
|