On This Day In 1849, The Unthinkable Happened In Missouri
The infamous St. Louis Fire of 1849 was a devastating fire that occurred on May 17th of that year and destroyed a significant part of St. Louis and many of the steamboats using the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers. At the time of the fire, the population of St. Louis was around 63,000, and the city was about ¾ miles wide with three miles of riverfront. It was a popular hub for steamboat travelers with its location near the junction of the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers, and was a final stop for supplies for travelers heading west, many to participate in the California Gold Rush.
A fire alarm sound at 9:00 p.m. on May 17, 1849 when the paddle wheeled steamboat "The White Cloud" caught fire. It was located on the river at the foot of Cherry Street, and St. Louis’ volunteer Fire Department immediately responded. Unfortunately, the moorings that were holding the steamboat burned through, allowing the burning White Cloud to drift down the Mississippi River, eventually causing 22 other steamboats as well as several flatboats and barges to also catch fire.
From there, the flames from the burning boats jumped to buildings on the shore, and soon everything on the waterfront levee was burning for four blocks. After moving westward to Main Street and crossing Olive Street, the fire completely gutted the three blocks between Olive and 2nd Street. It also went as far south as Market Street.
It continued to build and grow, unable to be stopped though the volunteer firemen fought it for eight straight hours and were very disheartened and exhausted. The city’s business district was doomed to be completely destroyed, so six businesses in front of the fire were loaded with kegs of black powder and blown up in succession, eventually successfully stopping the fire from spreading further. When Captain Thomas B. Targee was spreading powder into the last store chosen to be blown up, he became the first firefighter in known U.S. history to be killed in the line of duty.
In the end, the fire was the largest and most destructive in St. Louis history, lasting 11 hours. It destroyed 430 buildings, 23 steamboats, and over a dozen other boats. Three people died, including Captain Targee. The devastation resulted in new building codes and an extensive new water and sewer system was created to prevent this type of disaster from happening again.
Had you heard about this piece of St. Louis history?
OnlyInYourState may earn compensation through affiliate links in this article.
