Fire of 1914

Fire of 1914. . On the evening of Wednesday April 29, 1914, Hodgenville experienced a devastating fire that began at the vulcanizing and harness shop of D.B. Munford located behind what is now the Lincoln Museum. The fire engulfed the northwest quadrant of the town square and the buildings facing North Lincoln Boulevard., Unfortunately, the train carrying the Louisville Fire Department, who had been summoned to assist in the fire fighting effort, was unable to arrive in time. Nearly all in the path of the fire was lost. Despite the size of the fire and many attempts to remove merchandise from the buildings, there were few serious injuries and no fatalities., The fire caused an estimated $175,000 (equivalent to $4.2 million today) in damages and destroyed twenty-six businesses along with nineteen residences. Among the losses were Read Mercantile, a poolroom, pharmacy, the county school records, a telephone company, millinery shop, dental office, doctor's office, law office, dry goods shops, and grocery., The town demonstrated its resilience as the bank announced its papers were safe and the staff was soon able to resume normal operations. The rebuilding of a few of the other businesses began almost immediately. However, stocks of goods and supplies were slow in accumulating., The newly constructed buildings used brick instead of wood frame to ensure against future fires. Unfortunately, due to having very little or no insurance, many businesses were never able to rebuild or financially recover. For many years afterward the town square was dotted with numerous vacant lots, many of which were not filled until the mid to late 1920's., In 1989 the National Register of Historic Places designated the entire square as a Downtown Historic District., (Captions) , The fire originated at D.B. Munford's Hodgenville Vulcanizing and Harness shop located behind what is now the Lincoln Museum. Volcanizing creates rubber by mixing sap with sulfur using extreme heat. Courtesy Hilda-Gay Mayberry, Following the fire of 1914 all that remained of the LaRue National Bank was the vault and portions of a few walls. This photo by D.B. Busroe looks towards the corner where ABE 93.7 is now located. Courtesy LaRue County Herald News, In the background of this picture is Read Mercantile Company. Like many of the other businesses destroyed in the fire it was never able to rebuild. Courtesy of Abraham Lincoln Birthplace N. H. S. , This 1918 postcard photo shows post-fire construction efforts. Note the building shown on the left side is now the main entrance to The Lincoln Museum. Public Domain Courtesy of Gillam Collection, Eva G. Farris Collections, W. Frank Steely Library, Northern Kentucky University, Content from The Lincoln Museum collections