This lecture was given at the Brass Pelican, above Central, on September 18, 2000.
Express thanks to Chuck Chapman, Susan Shultz, Carolyn Stevens, Mrs. Louise Lewis for assistance

THE 1910 BENTON FIRE
I. DESCRIPTION OF BENTON
A. Daniel Hartman who started the first store in what is now Benton was
appointed by the postal department the first postmaster for the
community in 1852.
B. Hiram Hess in 1872 built the Exchange Hotel which became a
landmark in Benton.
C. By 1886 there were sixty some dwellings in Benton and two churches
in the community by this time.
D. The completion of the Bloomsburg & Sullivan Railroad in 1887 would
stimulate economic growth for Benton and the Fishing Creek Valley.
E. Benton had its own newspaper, the Argus, founded by William H.
Smith in 1889. It was staunch Democrat paper.
F. By the end of the nineteenth century the Rohr McHenry Distilling
Company was experiencing a great deal of success.
G. Benton had its own bank, the Columbia County National Bank,
established in 1902, and now known at Columbia County Farmers
National Bank.
H. From this small community in 1906, one of its sons, John G. McHenry,
was elected to the United States House of Representatives
I.

In 1907, J. D. Sallade opened the Benton Shirt factory

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J. R. T. Smith ran a planing mill, which was one of the largest in the
county.
K. Benton’s population in 1900 was 635 and ten years later it increased to
719 with 196 family dwellings. In these ten years the community
experienced a 13% growth in population.
L. At the time of the 1910 Benton fire, a Wilkes-Barre newspaper, The
Wilkes-Barre Record, gave the following description of the borough:
“The town was nicely laid out and was a delight to the eye, for
the large majority of residents owned their homes and the
utmost pride was felt in keeping both buildings and lawns in
good conditions.”

II.

DISCOVERY OF THE FIRE
A. The Fourth of July 1910 was a typical summer day to celebrate the
nation’s independence.
1. However, this would be a much different July 4 – one that would
be etched in the history of this peaceful community.
2. It was as if a thunder bolt from a clear blue sky struck an
unsuspecting, as well, as a defenseless community resulting in
great misfortune. What happened was a terrible fire.
B. A fire broke out mid-afternoon between George B. Crossley’s
blacksmith shop and his barn on Center Street, just east of the
Borough Hall.

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C. Clyde Hirleman, living near-by and a borough councilman, gave the
following account of the fire starting:
1. “I was in my yard mowing the grass when I noticed the fire first
start in the barn. It was only a small affair then and I quickly ran
to the town hall to ring the alarm.
2. “In a few minutes I was back and had 100 fee of garden hose
attached to the faucet and in those few minutes the three barns
in the proximity of the fire’s origin, the Crossley blacksmith shop
and my home were ablaze.
3. “Nobody had time to act. The town was doomed from the first.”
D. The fire alarm sounded at 3:20, and it suddenly disrupted and brought
to a halt what people were doing. On hearing the alarm, they had no
idea what was about to befall their town.
E. How did the fire start? Nearly all of the accounts of the fire refer to one
or more young children setting off firecrackers. Apparently, the firecrackers went off and ignited some hay or straw in or near the barn.
F. In researching this topic by reading various sources, not one of these
identified a person or persons responsible for caused the fire.

III. WHAT WERE THE DIFFICULTIES IN FIGHTING THE FIRE?
A. The fire spread very rapidly and was quickly out of control.
B. There was a wind from the north that fanned the flames, moving the
fire toward the southern end of the town.

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C. Many the buildings had roofs of wooden shingles that were sucked into
the air by the fire and blown onto other roofs. There created a situation
of masses of embers blowing toward other buildings
D. Benton did not have fire protection except for a chemical engine that
was useless against a large and fast spreading fire.
E. The only fire fighting apparatus in the town was an old-fashioned
pump, which had so long been in disuse and could not even be primed
1. The small about of hose available was useless, since it was
basically rotten.
2. Only buckets and a garden hose here and there were the only
means of fighting the fire.” There was also a lack of organization
in fighting the fire which hampered efforts to contain the fire.
F. There were too few men to fight the fire. Benton and Bloomsburg were
playing a double header baseball game on the Fourth.
1. The first game was in the morning at Benton. After lunch, the
teams and the fans boarded the Bloomsburg & Sullivan train to
Bloomsburg for the second game. In addition, some of the
Benton residents had gone to Grassmere Park for holiday
picnics.
2. When the fire broke out in the afternoon, at once it became
serious, not just because of the entire absence of fire fighting
apparatus and the lack of a town water system, but because of
the few men who were in the town.

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G. There was criticism of the Bloomsburg & Sullivan railroad in being so
slow in getting people to Benton to help with the fire.
1. Bentonians at Bloomsburg had to wait for the regular passenger
train of the B & S that left Bloomsburg at 7:00 in the evening.
2. Assistance from the timbermen from Jamison City was delayed
in getting to Benton due to a log train.
H. It was reported “the fire fighting agency that proved most effective was
two large trees close to the dwelling occupied by Harry Long. The
dense foliage of these trees stopped the cinders, which flew in
showers from the burning buildings, and saved the remainder of that
end of the town.”
I.

The lumber yards of Pennington & Seely on the east side of Main Street
where 200,000 to 300,000 feet of lumber burned was where the fire
spent its final fury.

J. The scene in Benton encompassed faces of despair, men exhausted
from fighting the fire, women weeping, and children screaming. These
lamentations and cries of fight mingling with the roar and crackling of
the flames producing clouds of choking smoke.
K. In two and one-half hours the fire had destroyed four and half blocks
containing homes and businesses.
1. Size of the fire, amount of property destroyed, and the number of
people made homeless became the worst that occurred in
Columbia County.

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2. 200 people were made homeless, and 56% percent of Benton’s
businesses were left in ruins.
3. There were about 60 buildings (including all types) destroyed by
the fire. 36 of these were people’s homes.
a. A majority of the homes destroyed were on Market and
Two & Half Streets
b. Market Street suffered the most damage – there were 22
places either homes, business, or barns that were
destroyed
c. The fire consumed 15 barns.
d. The monetary damage of the fire was put at $300,000
which in today’s dollars would be equivalent to $5.2 million
4. The boundaries of the “fire zone” were: Center Street to the
North, east side of Third Street on the west down to Colley
Street, Colley Street on the south, and the west side of Main
Street down to Market, and the area from Main Street over the
Presbyterian Church.
L. Fortunately, there was not one death in the fire. Only two people had
serious injuries.
1. Rosa Hess, an elderly woman, was injured while removing some
of her household goods from her home on Two & Half Street.
She was badly burned and was hospitalized in the Joseph Ratti

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Hospital in Bloomsburg for over a month. The Benton Fire Relief
Committee paid for the Rosa medical expenses, $55.55.
2. Samuel Harvey was badly burned about the hands and neck.

IV. BLOOMSBURG FIRE COMPANY RESPONDED TO THE BENTON FIRE
A. When Bloomsburg learned of the Benton fire and the need for
assistance, officials decided to send its steam pumper from the
Winona Fire Company to Benton.
B. Paul Z. Harman, who was a member of the Winona Fire Company,
recounted how Bloomsburg firemen came to Benton to help fight the
fire.
“When word came of the fire the B & S furnished an
engine and crew and a low side gondola, and we loaded
the old steam pumper and a handcar of hose on. Then
everyone who could get on the gondola did so and we
sure made a fast trip to Benton.”
C. Unfortunately, it took some time for the assistance from Bloomsburg to
arrive in Benton. By the time the Bloomsburg firemen arrived, the fire
had practically burned itself out.
D. The Bloomsburg firemen with their pumper basically directed their
efforts to the smoldering ruins and be in readiness to fight a fresh
outbreak should it occur. They remained at Benton until middle of the
next day.

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V. THE AFTERMATH OF THE FIRE – BENTON NEEDED HELP
A. Fire had destroyed one-third of the borough, $300,000 in property
damages, and left scores of people homeless.
B. Many people in Benton did not have their property insured or it was
under insured.
1. Fire insurance rates were thought to be too high at a rate of
$27.50 per thousand. The rates were high because the borough
did not have any fire protection.
2. The amount of insurance carried was comparatively small. The
total amount of insurance to be paid out, according to the Argus,
was $100,000, which represented about one-third of the loss
sustained.
C. The economic consequences of the fire would have a significant
impact on Benton.
1. Home owners had lost the monetary value of their property or if
they were renters, their household goods. The same would be
true for the businessmen.
2. The economic impact of over half of the businesses lost meant
many people were out of jobs.
3. Property owners faced the costs of removing the rubble left by
the fire.
4. The borough’s property tax revenues would be substantially
reduced.

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D. Two days after the fire, Wednesday, July 6, there was a large public
meeting at the Methodist Church.
1. The meeting approved a motion to take $500 from the poor fund
to meet the most urgent cases requiring attention, and if this was
insufficient, to take an additional $500 from the same account.
2. In addition they adopted several resolutions stating:
a. Bentonians would confront their calamity bravely and we
are committed to rebuilding the borough
b. Expressions of thanks to the people of the surrounding
area, kind people of Jamison City, and our highest sense of
appreciation to Bloomsburg Mayor Townshend, the Council
and the fire department.
c. Appointment of a “Relief Committee” consisting of the
following:
• Three borough officials: J. B. Laubach, Burgess, A.
R. Pennington, President of Council, and Dr. M.
McHenry
• Three ladies, one from each of the three churches:
Mrs. Abbie Krickbaum, Miss Nora Albertson, and
Mrs. John W. (Josephine) Winley
C. The Town Hall was made available to the fire victims: It became the
Argus business office, Hess’ Meat Market, Post Office (John J. Mather,
postmaster), upstairs portion of the town hall partitioned off as

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apartments for Mr. & Mrs. Boyd Gibson and Dr. & Mrs. Bruce Hess,
and for the United Telephone Company.
D. The Columbia County Commissioners came to Benton on July 7 to
provide some tax relief: All taxes for county purposes were abated
down to a valuation of $50.00 on each lot upon which the building had
been destroyed.”

VI. BENTON RELIEF COMMITTEE – THE PUBLIC RESPONSE TO THE FIRE
A. The establishment of the “Relief Committee” became very important in
helping the fire victims to start their recovery. Twenty-nine families
were left homeless, and some of them had nothing left but the clothes
they were wearing.
B. In the Benton Relief Committee’s final statement made near the end of
September they reported $3,896.91 in cash contributions. In today’s
dollars this would be equivalent to $67,686. The Argus described the
responses having been liberal and what has been received has been
of best quality.
1. In Columbia County, twelve communities gave two-thirds of the
amount raised.
2. Various communities in Columbia County established
committees to raise funds and articles of clothing, bedding, and
food for victims of the Benton fire. Lightstreet and Orangeville
held festivals to raise money.

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3. Cash contributions from the four highest communities were:
Bloomsburg $837, Berwick $674.75, Benton $555.55, and
Catawissa $201.70.
C. Besides the various committees, individuals on the own initiative sent
money and articles to the Benton Relief Committee.
D. Bloomsburg & Sullivan railroad decided not to impose any charges for
handling articles sent to Benton for the aid of the fire victims. The
railroad also contributed $100 for relief of the sufferers.
E. The Benton Relief Committee established three classes for fire victims
to receive aid. Financial aid was more or less evenly distributed in
each class.
1. Class A: there were four recipients with average cash assistance
ranging from $260 to $160 or on average $197.50 ($3,422)
2. Class B: there were 21 recipients with average cash assistant
ranging from $85 to $61 or on average $82.43. ($1,424)
3. Class C: there were 18 recipients with average cash assistance
ranging from $40 to $30 or on average $36.66. ($625)
4. Average cash assistance for the 43 fire victims came to $75.55.
($1300)
F. The Argus reported in its July 28th edition that “from the day of the fire,
not a person has been left without a place to sleep and something to
eat. The people have responded splendidly to the needs of their fellow
men.

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VII. BENTON ENACTMENT OF FIRE PROTECTION ORDINANCES
A. Unquestionably, the magnitude of the fire and economic loss facing
many Benton’s citizens prompted a call and receptivity that something
must be done to prevent a similar recurrence.
B. One week after the fire the Borough Council meet on July 11 to
enacted two ordinances which sought to reduce the potential of
another devastating fire.
1. Ordinance No. 35 created the office of building inspector.
a. It required any person or persons, firm or corporation
planning to construct or repair building or buildings to
obtain a building permit.
b. Before any building permit shall be granted, or work begun,
the plans and specifications shall be subject to examination
and approval by the building inspector.
2. Ordinance No. 36 had two parts:
a. Prohibited the erection of any wooden barns, stables,
carriage houses or other out-buildings fronting upon the
streets of the borough.
b. It also stipulated that roofs must be constructed of fire-proof
materials. It made it illegal for the erection, reconstruction,
or remove within the limits of the borough any building or

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buildings which shall be composed of other than fire-proof
materials.
3. Then on October 12 the Council authorized the sending of
notices to owners, cited by the building inspector, of defective
flues and that they must be repaired.

VIII. EFFORT TO GET A PUBLIC WATER SYSTEM
A. In looking back at the disaster that resulted from the fire on July 4,
1910, would it be fair to argue that the magnitude of the fire could have
been prevented?
1. I am going to venture an answer to my own question, knowing
full well the risk on being a non-Bentonian and that the fire
occurred ninety years ago.
2. My answer would be yes. Now, let me explain why I think the
scope of the fire could have been less. Please note that I did not
say the fire could have been prevented; I am only referring to its
scale.
B. The Benton Borough Council on February 20, 1904, voted to authorize
the construction of a “pumping system and water works” with the cost
not to exceed $11,000, in today’s dollars it would around $180,000.
1. In order to proceed with the project, the Borough had to
submitted a petition to the Columbia County Quarter Sessions

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Court in May requesting permission to increase the borough’s
indebtedness to cover the cost of constructing the water plant.
2. The Court approved the petition with the requirement that the
Borough must give the citizens the right to vote “yes” or “no” to
increase the indebtedness.
3. The referendum held on July 12, 1904, and by a vote of 104 yes
to 35 no approved the water works project. 75% of the voters
clearly wanted to build the water works.
C. Construction of the water works commenced on September 27.
D. The next day the project abruptly stopped. The reason being that a
group of Benton citizens, eighteen, had gone to court and secured an
injunction to stop the construction project.
E. Not to get too involved in all of the legal details of the case, I would
simply summarize the plaintiffs’ argument by saying the grounds for
the injunction rested on a number of procedural points which the
council failed to follow.
1. The argument did not encompass whether or not a water system
was needed.
2. Instead, the Borough had not followed the law of authorizing the
construction of the water system.
3. For example, Council’s actions of to authorize the water system
had not been submitted to the chief burgess (mayor) for his
approval or disapproval.

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4. Let’s not forget that procedural objections to Council decision to
built the water plant were raised because these eighteen people
did not want their taxes to increase from by paying for the water
plant.
F. Consequently, the litigation over the injunction became tied up in the
courts, and with no legal settlement in sight, the Council decided to
abandon the project in March 1905.
G. As we all know, when the July 4, 1910, fire erupted, there was no
public water system to fight the fire. If there had been a public water
works and there would have been mostly a fire department. There
would had been the means to fight the fire before it got out of control.
H. It is interesting to note, that Dr. J. B. Laubach, a dentist and Mayor at
the time of the 1910 fire, had been one of the individuals that sought
the court injunction to stop the water works project.
1. In an address to the Benton citizens when he was about to leave
office in 1911 he wrote a letter that was published in the Argus: “I
appeal to you not to forget the lesson, you have learned. Let us
learn to set aside our own prejudices as we did in the hour of
trial, and enter with heart and soul into every good project for the
improvement of our town, even if things are not done exactly our
way.”
2. It also interesting to note, that four of the eighteen Benton
citizens that secured the injunctions against the water works
project lost either a home or a barn in the fire.

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• Samuel S. Harvey lost his home and barn in the fire
• Lee Kessler, lost his barn in the fire
• Noel. T. Smith, lost his home and barn in the fire
• Dr. I. E. Patterson, lost his barn in the fire.
I.

Seven months after the fire, the Borough Council at its February 1911
meeting voted to authorize the construction of public water works.
However, after a couple of false starts, Benton finally succeeded in
getting its water works established in 1914.

IX. ONE YEAR AFTER THE FIRE (1911)
A. Benton was clearly on the way of rebuilding.
1. Of the 30 residences destroyed in the fire, 22 new homes had
been erected in the place of those destroyed.
2. In addition, 6 new homes were built outside the fire zone.
3. Instead a row of unsightly barns on Center Street, there now
stood two fine homes.
B. Although much of the Benton’s business section had not yet been
rebuilt, a good start had been made with three business places under
construction, including a new Columbia County National Bank building,
and two more under expected.

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C. The Argus observed that the rebuilding is resulting in a better class of
buildings than those destroyed.
D. The Argus editor, Percy Brewington, predicted that within “five years a
greater and better Benton will be a reality and there will not be a
vacant burnt spot in the town.”

XII. THERE WERE FOUR OTHER SIGNIFICANT FIRES THAT OCCURRED IN
BENTON IN THE NEXT THREE YEARS
A. 1911 the McHenry Distilling Company Warehouse containing 17,000
barrels of whiskey
B. 1913 the Presbyterian Church
C. 1913 R. T. Smith & Son Planing Mill
D. 1913 Benton Shirt Factory

XIII. What can we learn from the Benton fire?
A. Have insurance and the proper amount
B. Value of building codes
C. If borough would had been successful in getting a water works in 1904
D. People responded to those who were need