This Is What Nashville Looked Like 100 Years Ago... It May Surprise You
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Meghan Kraft
Author
The city was on fire. Yep, you heard us right – 1916 was the year of the great East Nashville fire, a rabid fire that scoured the east side of the city and drove buildings to the ground. It’s not quite 2016, with our hipster-strewn east side, but it’s wildly interesting to look back in time and see the craze our city endured only 100 years ago.
The fire began early in the morning on Wednesday, March 22 in 1916. It began in the home of Joe Jennings whose house was located on North First Street.
Sparks from his house caused the fire, but many believe that it caught and went crazy after igniting a ball of yarn.
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The wind that night was exceedingly high, at 44 to 51 miles an hour!
It carried the fire across the commonly wood shingled roofs of the time, and eventually destroyed more than FIVE HUNDRED houses.
It raged for quite awhile, as the fire department found it difficult to stay ahead of the wind.
The Fire Chief of Nashville at the time, Rozetta, sent telegraphs to every city within a couple of miles to help with the blaze.
It was so intense that residents formed lines of bucket brigades as they tried in vain to help fight the flames.
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All of Nashville that clung to the southeast edge of Fifth and Woodland was completely destroyed, despite the hard work of brave firefighters.
It was a tragedy that will never be forgotten. Thankfully, there was only one casualty - a man who was electrocuted by a downed power line.
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