Remembering the Great Jacksonville Fire of 1901

 

A small kitchen fire that spread to Spanish moss at a mattress factory would go on to engulf the entire city of Jacksonville in 1901 and create the largest city fire ever reported in the South. The fire was on the scale of disastrous blazes that struck Chicago and San Francisco.  

The Great Fire began on May 3, 1901 in the LaVilla area of town and spread in miles in all directions. It did not help that Northeast Florida was in a severe drought and many of the buildings during the late 1800s were built with wood and had wood shingles. The fire only lasted around 8 hours but during that time more than 2,300 buildings were destroyed and around 10,000 people were left homeless.

It took the city decades to recover from the disaster. A marker about the Great Fie of 1901 is located in James Weldon Johnson Park. It reads:

"On May 3, 1901 at 12:30 p.m., a fire began at the Cleaveland Fibre Factory, ten blocks northwest of this site. Chimney embers ignited sun-dried moss to be used as mattress stuffing. Fueled by wind and dry weather, the fire roared east destroying most structures in its path. By 3:30 p.m., the fire reached this site, then called Hemming Park. The park and its renowned live oaks were devoured by the flames and only the Confederate Monument survived, its base glowing red from heat. The fire continued an eastward march to Hogan's Creek, where a citizen's bucket brigade stayed the flames. Then, turning south, the inferno roared to Bay Street's riverfront docks. Extreme heat caused a waterspout in the river where rescue boats trolled for survivors. The fire was so intense, black smoke clouds could be seen as far away as South Carolina. As flames moved west on Bay Street, the firefighters’ gallant stand and dying winds brought the fire under control by 8:30 p.m. In just eight hours, nearly 10,000 people were homeless, 2,368 buildings were lost, 146 city blocks were destroyed, but miraculously only seven people perished. Jacksonville's 1901 Fire remains the most destructive burning of a Southern city in U.S. history."