It is not unusual to find early Western towns that burned; it is rare to find one that did not. It could have been a curling iron heating on top of a kerosene lamp, an overturned glue pot, or holiday fireworks that caused the “great fires" of Seattle, Spokane, and Ellensburg in 1889.
Seattle, 100 miles south of the Canadian border, is located on an isthmus between Puget Sound and Lake Washington. Early pioneers settled in the area and named it New York. In 1853, it was renamed "New York Alki" from a Chinook word meaning "by and by," or “someday.”
The Great Fire of June 6, 1889 was a significant turning point in Seattle's history, changing its physical landscape. The fire started at 2:30 p.m., reportedly from an overheated glue pot in a paint and woodwork shop at Front and Madison. Over the next 18 hours, it moved south across 100 acres of Seattle's business district and waterfront, destroying buildings, docks, and wooden sidewalks. With pledges of aid from Tacoma, Olympia, Portland, San Francisco, Victoria, and other cities, the city was redesigned and rebuilt within a year.
Ellensburg, located along the Yakima River in the Kittitas Valley of central Washington, was once a leading candidate for the state capital. However, the Great Ellensburg Fire in 1889 nixed the plan.
Robber's Roost, a trading post long popular with Native Americans, cattle drivers, trappers, and miners, was the first business in what would become Ellenburg in 1871. The trading post was on present-day Third Avenue, west of Main Street.
Firemen responded quickly to the fire that began late July 4, but strong winds destroyed over 200 homes and buildings, including 10 blocks in the heart of the city of 4,000 people. The cause is unknown, but the main suspect was the fireworks display, with rumors of Native Americans revenging a white man for beating a Native American woman.
Spokane, meaning “children of the sun," sits along the Spokane River adjacent to the Selkirk Mountains and west of the Rocky Mountain foothills in eastern Washington. In 1880, U.S. Army troops established Fort Spokane 56 miles northwest of Spokane at the junction of the Columbia and Spokane Rivers, to protect the construction of the Northern Pacific Railway and to secure a place for a settlement. By June 30, 1881, the railway reached the city, bringing major European settlement to the area. The city was officially incorporated with a population of about 1,000 residents in 1881.
Spokane's growth continued until August 4, 1889, when a fire, now known as the Great Fire, destroyed 32 blocks of the city's downtown commercial district. The cause is unknown but could have been ignited by a greasy towel catching fire in a cafe, a lady's curling iron heating on a kerosene lamp, or a spark from a passing train.
Becky McCreary is a member of Southern Arizona Genealogy Society and teaches “Storytellers: Writing family stories.” Genealogy Today articles are archived at www.azsags.org. The column may not be reprinted without the written consent of the author. Reach the author at: rebeccamccreary764@gmail.com.
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