POST TIME: The great West Palm Beach fires of 1896
Readers: Imagine building a bold new city, with great enthusiasm and hope, only to suffer, just two years in, two devastating fires just weeks apart.
Here's more on those 1896 fires from our archives, the
On the day after
It broke out about
The corner sported a lunch room, a cigar and candy emporium, and saloons, as well as the drug store operated by
An overheated gasoline stove exploded in the
Firefighters' hoses didn't reach, so men made a bucket line from “Lake Worth” — the
Within two and a half hours, an article said, "the excellent work of the fire department the fire was checked at the
A wire story said some buildings were dynamited to slow the fire. One explosion injured several people, including
The Flagler Alerts, despite their efforts, had saved few of the burning structures. While the number affected wasn't listed, it totaled a third of structures on Narcissus and everything on Banyan.
Losses to buildings and contents totaled
"The insurance is very small and many people are made homeless," a wire story said.
On
Not so fast.
Next week: The second fire.
Post Time appears in print every Thursday in
This article originally appeared on
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