05/27/16 Earle Shettleworth, Jr. - Maine State Historian
Posted by Ben Lowry
At our Friday meeting, our club was once again honored to have as our speaker Earle Shettleworth, the one and only Maine State Historian. Earle, as always, entranced his audience, this time with the story of the Great Portland Fire of 1866, at the time the most devastating urban conflagration in United States history. Earle felt the timing was right to speak on this topic, as the 150-year anniversary of this disaster quickly approaches on July 4th and 5th, with media coverage expected in The Portland Press Herald, as well as at least one of the local television outlets. Also, look for an exhibition at The Maine Historical Society beginning in June and running into July.For Portland, previously known as Falmouth Neck, there was already a long history of devastation followed by rebuilding, with the city being destroyed in 1675 and 1690 by fires and then again in 1775, when an angry British naval captain named Henry Mowatt attacked and plundered the city after being briefly held captive the previous year.
On the afternoon of July 4th, 1866, with the city’s residents celebrating the nation’s birthday, a small fire broke out at a boat shop near the rail lines off Commercial Street. Whether from a firecracker or, more likely, a spark from a passing freight car, the fire spread quickly during the afternoon and early evening, with a strong wind fanning the flames. Because of the city’s reliance on water from Portland Harbor to douse flames, a low tide proved very unlucky as the fire tore through the Old Port and up toward the city center near where our current city hall now sits. With mostly wooden structures tightly built in the city’s center, there was no shortage of fuel as the 4th turned to the 5th, with the city losing one-third of its buildings and 12,000 Portlanders were left homeless.
On the morning of July 5th, residents arose to the charred ruins of their beloved Forest City. Earle showed us photos from various angles, with the ravaged city still smoldering, the six-year old city hall gutted, the Old Port area leveled. The photos were eerily reminiscent of those we have seen from Nagasaki and Hiroshima, with block after block of nothing but stone chimneys remaining upright.
Within 24 hours, the US Army was setting up a “tent city” on the common land at the base of Munjoy Hill. 1500 tents were erected to house those who had lost everything. A food pantry opened at the old city hall and was inundated within hours. Harper’s Weekly, the nation’s largest magazine, published a story on the tragedy.
And, as Portland had done three times before, she rose from the ashes and once again earned the city motto of “Resurgam,” which translates to “I will rise again.” City Hall was built using the still-standing brick façade, Lincoln Park was built as a “fire break” for any future infernos. The Custom House and a new post office went up....and, perhaps most importantly, zoning changes were quickly enacted to allay some of the fears of Portlanders as they moved quickly back into the Old Port. Within ten years, the city looked anew, anchored by the grand Falmouth Hotel, which was built by local realtor J.B. Brown to entice others to move forward without trepidation, a strategy that proved quite successful. Many of the beautiful buildings of Portland sprung up in the wake of the Great Fire of 1866.
With the 150th anniversary of the fire quickly approaching, we can look back, with the help of one of Maine’s gems, Earle Shettleworth, and appreciate all that has gone into making Portland one our country’s most beloved little cities.