The Great Fire of 1908

When most people drive downtown, they are almost always in a hurry. But, if a person actually stops and looks around, it is easily seen that Fond du Lac contains a lot of history. Every old church and store in this city has a special story connected to it. When a disaster strikes, the story can be lost; only to be found again through old newspapers. These churches meant a great deal to the citizens of Fond du Lac during the time of their existence. Couples were married, babies baptized, and generations of families gathered on Sunday mornings for worship in these churches. In the early days, catastrophic fires threatened these structures, and Fond du Lac did not have a proper fire department handle the disaster. Most often, if something caught on fire, it had to be left to burn. Then the expensive rebuilding could begin.

Fire played a very important role in the lives of the early Fond du Lac pioneers. It provided people with heat, light, and a means to cook. Almost every home in Fond du Lac had some sort of stove or fireplace. If a fire got out of control, that house and surrounding homes were in danger of burning down. As the town’s population grew larger and larger, the number of fire sources went up as well. The chances of a fire getting out of control were growing quickly. People soon began to fear the inevitable.

Fond du Lac decided to begin taking steps for fire readiness. John Bannister and A.L. Ellsworth were appointed fire wardens in March of 1848. After a few months, a petition was put in front of the Board of Village Trustees. It simply requested that the city buy one fire engine. The Board decided against the purchase, and as a compromise, they added three more fire wardens. Not many people took these wardens seriously...

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...rting again. The fire itself was seen for miles and the heat was so intense that there was “hardly a building within a one block radius that was not scorched” (Reporter Front Page). Extinguished fire brands were found in all parts of the Eastern section of the city. Some brands were even found in Lakeside Park. The force of the gas explosions in the garage blew debris from E 2nd and Marr to half way down Ellis St. This shows just how large the fire actually was.

In conclusion, on the night of September 25th, two beautiful churches burned and many other buildings were scorched by the flames. The fire brought fear to some residents who thought they would lose everything and exhaustion to the fire fighters. No deaths were reported, and only a few people were severely burned. It was a night that would not be forgotten easily by those who lived in the “Burning District.”