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Clarksville in Montgomery County, Tennessee — The American South (East South Central)
 

Nature's Fury / Fire & Wind — A Terrible Threat & a Frightful Force

 
 
Nature's Fury / Fire & Wind — A Terrible Threat & a Frightful Force Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Darren Jefferson Clay, February 26, 2022
1. Nature's Fury / Fire & Wind — A Terrible Threat & a Frightful Force Marker
Inscription. From its beginning, Clarksville has been plagued with destructive fires. In the early 1830s, the city ordered the delivery of four 35-foot ladders and a fire cistern on Public Square. Each building owner on Public Square was required to equip their building with two good fire buckets and property owners elsewhere in town were to provide one bucket. The many wood-framed buildings in the business district presented constant danger and the potential for extensive property losses prompted the digging of additional cisterns in town.

Too numerous to list them all, the following chronology represents some of the most significant fires in Clarksville's past:

1851 — In May, the roof of a four-story building on Public Square between the Franklin House and the Peacher, Smith and Company building caught fire and soon spread to other buildings in the area. A tin-roofed building joined those on fire; however, its wall of double thickness helped to stop the spread of the fire, although not before every store on Franklin Street had been emptied of its contents. In December, a fire that began at the Browder and McClure Tobacco Factory spread to the Pork Plant of Kendall and Level with a loss of nearly $25,000. However, the Hugh Dunlop Factory was saved after several roof fires were extinguished.
1887 — On April 3,
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a fire disrupted church services when volunteers rushed to the scene. Several buildings around First and Franklin Streets were destroyed. Several of these were frame buildings in a part of downtown that had not been affected by the 1878 fire and had existed prior to the establishment of the 1878 fire codes.
1900 — On March 12, the Montgomery County Courthouse, which had been rebuilt in a new location after the 1878 fire, burned once again. However, thanks to the new fire codes, it was possible to save the building. The roof and clock tower collapsed, but the walls were structurally sound and the Courthouse was rebuilt.
1914 — In December, a new up-to-date steam heating plant was installed in the Elder's Opera House. The new furnace was given a trial run on December 29 in anticipation of the performance the next day with a cast of 50. The performance never took place. The day before the performance, the Opera House burned. An overheated furnace was said to have been the cause of the fire. The entire block of buildings from Public Square to First Street burned. The Lillian Theater on the corner of First and Franklin Streets was also destroyed. Ironically, the movie showing at the theater was "Playing with Fire."
1892 — D. B. Wood's storehouse, Daniel Livery Stable, Glick Storehouse and Planters Hotel were all destroyed.
1896 — Cottrell's
Nature's Fury / Fire & Wind — A Terrible Threat & a Frightful Force Marker Closeup image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Duane and Tracy Marsteller, March 20, 2021
2. Nature's Fury / Fire & Wind — A Terrible Threat & a Frightful Force Marker Closeup
Photo Gallery, T.D. Luckett & Company where over one million pounds of tobacco valued at $50,000 was destroyed.
1906 — Dunlop Milling Company, Shelton & Sons Livery Stable
1913 — Lassister Livery Stable, seven horses killed
1954 — Franklin House Hotel
1969 — Merritt Lumber Company
1978 — Orgain Building and Supply Company and Grange Warehouse
1984 — Cumberland Wholesale and Queen City Tobacco Corporation
2002 — Acme Boot Company
(Sidebar) The Fire of 1878 — The greatest fire Clarksville was to experience and which resulted in the re-building of most of the downtown and the re-evaluation of fire safety measures occurred on Saturday, April 13, 1878. Fifteen acres of downtown Clarksville were left in ruins. The fire broke out in a frame building at the rear of Mr. Kincannon's Tin and Queensware Store on Franklin Street between First and Second streets. The fire whipped by wind spread along Franklin, Commerce, First, Second and Third Streets. The Courthouse, then located on Franklin, the fire station, newspaper office, banks, residences, Mike Sullivan's Grocery, Lehman's Saloon and many other businesses were soon in ashes.

The town's single fire engine broke down early in the fire and a call was made to Nashville for assistance. A special train was authorized from Nashville
Nature's Fury / Fire & Wind — A Terrible Threat & a Frightful Force Marker Closeup image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Duane and Tracy Marsteller, March 20, 2021
3. Nature's Fury / Fire & Wind — A Terrible Threat & a Frightful Force Marker Closeup
and arrived in Clarksville on a cleared track before dawn, carrying an engine, hose and equipment. The fire burned out early Sunday morning. Arson was thought to be the cause of the fire, but never proven. Losses of more than 100 individual properties amounted to $492,000 with only $165,000 covered by insurance. Before the ashes cooled, city officials established a fire district and repairs had to be in compliance with the new codes. The buildings were to be of brick or stone with slate or metal roofs. A firewall was to extend above the roof by two feet.

Wind is a natural force that has continued to play havoc with Clarksville and Montgomery County over the years.
1884 —Around noon in February, a tornado struck Clarksville's southwestern edge, passing over the freight depot, the Grange Warehouse and the Elephant Warehouse. Buildings on Public Square, including the Franklin House and Elder's Opera House were damaged, as were buildings on Strawberry Alley, Main and Franklin Streets. The tornado then headed to the extreme northern suburbs of the city on Kellogg Extension were damge was much more severe than in the downtown area. Later that same day, around 3 p.,. a severe rain, wind and hailstorm struck Clarksville again. This time, three of the four corners of the Courthouse were blown away, windows were broken and the slate roof damaged. Losses were estimated
Nature's Fury / Fire & Wind — A Terrible Threat & a Frightful Force Marker Closeup image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Duane and Tracy Marsteller, March 20, 2021
4. Nature's Fury / Fire & Wind — A Terrible Threat & a Frightful Force Marker Closeup
at $20,000 in the city and miraculously there was no loss of life.
1909 — On April 29, around 8:30 p.m. there were six deaths, several injuries and thousands of dollars worth of property damage as a tornado passed over the eastern part of the county. This was in a rural area around Sango and Port Royal. A school desk from Mt, Olivet was found 20 miles away near Allensville, KY and other items were found near Guthrie, KY. Chickens were stripped of their feathers and livestock injured or killed. Damage was estimated at $75,000.
1924 — On December 7, a tornado touched down in the Fredonia area destroying the Masonic Lodge.
1942 — In March, a tornado hit Oak Plains and Henrietta. Barns and sheds were damaged.
1947 — In the Spring, another tornado left large trees uprooted and homes damaged.
1970 — On April 27, an F4 tornado tore through Montgomery County and headed to counties east of Montgomery. Three people were killed and 80 were injured in Montgomery County.
1976 — On March 20, heavy winds and a severe storm inflicted at least $147,000 of damage to Clarksville and $250,000 to Fort Campbell. Three Fort Campbell soldiers died when their helicopter crashed during the wind and hailstorm. Several mobile homes were destroyed and the eagle that graced the top of the Montgomery Courthouse was lost, but later found
Nature's Fury / Fire & Wind — A Terrible Threat & a Frightful Force Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Duane and Tracy Marsteller, March 20, 2021
5. Nature's Fury / Fire & Wind — A Terrible Threat & a Frightful Force Marker
and reattached.
2002 — On November 10, around 1 a.m., an F1 tornado destroyed two mobile homes on Port Royal Road in Montgomery County, killing two people.
2003 — On May 5, an F2 tornado tore through Southeast Montgomery County around 1 a.m. Winds reached 120 mph and damaged 108 homes, destroying two. No deaths or serious injuries were reported. A portion of the gymnasium roof was torn off at St. Bethlehem Elementary School. Large trees were toppled, more than 15,000 city residents and nearly 3,500 county residents were without power.

(Sidebar) The Tornado of 1999 — On January 22, at 4:20 a.m., winds reached an estimated 200 mph when an F3 tornado struck within the heart of the City of Clarksville. Beginning at Riverside Drive, a path of destruction was carved through the Dog Hill residential area, historic downtown, Austin Peay State University, the Red River residential district, Kraft Street and St. Bethlehem. Miraculously, no lives were lost and few injuries were sustained. A total of 124 buildings were destroyed and another 562 damaged. Property damage was estimated at $72.5 million.

Fire and wind have left their mark and the threat of their return is always with us … For more photos regarding the history of Clarksville-Montgomery County's notable events, please see the display "As The River Flows" at the Cumberland RiverCenter.

Captions:
Top
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left
: (1800s) Fire ladder wagon in front of Public Square
Bottom left: (1878) Ruins of Central Hotel; View looking north from Second Street. Trinity Episcopal Church survived the fire.
Center: (1914) Ruins of Elder's Opera House on the corner of First and Franklin Street.
Tornado of 1999, clockwise from top right:
• The Customs House Museum on Second Street.
• Madison Street United Methodist Church.
• Ruins of the historic Horace Lurton Home on the corner of Madison and Second Street.
• Damages to businesses on Third Street.
— Research and content for this exhibit compiled by Eleanor S. Williams, Montgomery County Historian
— Design by BLF Marketing; Graphics, Wade L. McClelland; Project Coordination, Frank Lott and Stephanie Schneider

 
Erected by Clarksville Area Chamber of Commerce.
 
Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Disasters.
 
Location. 36° 31.627′ N, 87° 21.482′ W. Marker is in Clarksville, Tennessee, in Montgomery County. Marker can be reached from South 2nd Street (Tennessee Route 76) south of Franklin Street, on the left when traveling south. Marker is located in the Millennium Plaza courtyard next to the Montgomery County Courthouse. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 2 Millennium Plz, Clarksville TN 37040, United States of America. Touch for directions.
 
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. Blaze Consumes 15 Acres ... Downtown & Courthouse Destroyed (here, next to this marker); Town Population Increases ... Move Deemed Necessary (here, next to this marker); Grand Judicial Building Constructed ... Citizens Celebrate (here, next to this marker); Disaster Strikes Again ... Courthouse Rises from Ashes (here, next to this marker); First Courthouse Established ... Tennessee Awaits Statehood (here, next to this marker); Nature's Fury / Water ... Always a Powerful Presence (here, next to this marker); A Mighty Wind... Community Unites To Rebuild (a few steps from this marker); Nora (within shouting distance of this marker). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Clarksville.
 
More about this marker. Base is somewhat higher than is typical of panel markers. Reading it may be harder for those of shorter height or in a wheelchair.
 
Related markers. Click here for a list of markers that are related to this marker.
 
 
Credits. This page was last revised on February 27, 2022. It was originally submitted on March 21, 2021, by Duane and Tracy Marsteller of Murfreesboro, Tennessee. This page has been viewed 307 times since then and 19 times this year. Photos:   1. submitted on February 26, 2022, by Darren Jefferson Clay of Duluth, Georgia.   2, 3, 4, 5. submitted on March 21, 2021, by Duane and Tracy Marsteller of Murfreesboro, Tennessee.

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Mar. 28, 2024