Posted in Pittsburgh
November 05, 2017
One Of The Worst Disasters In Pennsylvania History Happened Right Here In Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh has experienced its fair share of disasters: from the Donora Smog in 1946 to the Crash of US Airways Flight 427 in 1994. And, despite the tragedies, the city and its people always come through stronger than ever. One disaster, perhaps one of the worst in Pennsylvania history, destroyed a significant portion of the the city. Here’s the story of the Great Fire of 1845 in Pittsburgh.
Just about halfway through the 1800s, Pittsburgh was a growing, vibrant city. An estimated 30,000 people called the city, predominately dotted with wooden houses and other wooden structures, home in 1845. Still, despite its population explosion, Pittsburgh faced some pretty tough realities. The entire city, for example, only had two water main lines.
April 10, 1845 started out as any other day in Pittsburgh. Already spring, the dry weather and strong winds, that kicked up off and on during the day, didn't seem out of the ordinary. Until sometime in the late morning. That's when a woman lit a fire to heat water for laundry. She stepped away from the fire. Within moments, the fire jumped to a nearby shed. The fire spread rapidly largely because of those strong winds and the dry air.
The fire spread to tree branches and other debris, which the wind picked up and swept away. Witnesses to the fire described a powerful wind that nearly knocked them off of their feet.
Long before building permits, zoning permits, and a modern water system, Pittsburgh firefighters faced an uphill battle in fighting the fast-spreading blaze. The hoses they used sprayed out little more than a trickle of dirty water, making it nearly impossible to stop the flames from spreading from one wooden building to the next.
Pittsburghers came together to fight the blaze. But, as it continued to spread, many fled back to their homes to gather what belongings they could save and to flee the city.
Everyone - both the rich and the poor - faced destruction. In fact, more than 1,000 buildings burned to the ground during the seven hours the fire raged. Among the notable buildings destroyed were The Bank of Pittsburgh, the Monongahela House, and the Western University of Pennsylvania.
More than 700 families lost their homes in the Great Fire of 1845 with damages estimated as high as $3 million (the equivalent of more than $70 million in the 21st century). While Pittsburgh suffered significant financial and structural loss, the residents themselves were much luckier. Historians estimated that five people died as a result of the Great Fire of 1845.
Have you heard the story of the Great Fire of 1845 in Pittsburgh? What other disasters that occurred in Pittsburgh rank as some of the worst in Pennsylvania’s history?
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