The Benton Fire of July 4, 1910 by George A. Turner

Benton, Pennsylvania, is a small tranquil community located along the banks of Fishing Creek in the northern part of Columbia County. The census for 1910 reported a population of 719 white inhabitants, 97.2 percent born in Pennsylvania, and five foreign born. A Wilkes-Barre newspaper. The Wilkes-Barre Record, described the town as "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." When the Bloomsburg and Sullivan Railroad reached the town in 1886, it became a stimulus for economic growth. Benton had a viable commercial center with nearly twenty merchants and four industries, McHenry Distillery, Long Wagon Works, Benton Shirt Factory, and the R. T. Smith & Son Planing Mill. "From a business point it would indeed be difficult to paint a more prosperous town for its size than Benton."

A view of the McHenry House in the center, and Pennington's Store on the right. A history of these two buildings is under development and will be provided at a later time.
		Picture courtesy of Doris Harvey
		The McHenry House was on the East side of Main Street.           Photo courtesy of Doris Harvey

The community attracted many visitors due to the area's reputation as a good place for fishing and hunting. It had its own newspaper, the Argus, along with a bank, a high school, three Protestant churches, two three-storied hotels, six doctors, and two dentists.

	The Columbia County National Bank, Benton, PA, was chartered in 1902 with John G. McHenry, president; and J. Boyd McHenry, Alfred McHenry,Charles A. Wesley, Russell Karns, C. F. Seely, George B. Hummer, W. L. Yorks, directors. The bank occupied a frame building next to the former Main Street site of the Benton Post Office until the fire of 1910. The present building housing the Columbia County Farmers National Bank was built immediately after the fire at a cost of $16,000. Additions and modernization's have been made since.   This picture was taken before the fire of 1910   Picture courtesy of Doris Harvey

As the morning rays of sunshine chased the nighttime shadows from Benton, its residents had no idea what was in store for them on the Fourth of July 1910. The day started as a typical Independence Day, a time for family picnics, festivities in nearby towns, and America's pastime, a baseball game.

	Tranquil Benton before the 1910 Fire
Early picture of the Benton Dam. Note the water coming over the top, but the vegetation growing in the stream. We assume that the mill race accounted for a lot of water going around the dam.		A Benton store prior to the fire. The picture comes from an undated and unidentified post card. The only marking on the card says, "Place one cent stamp here."
Picture courtesy of Doris Harvey		Picture courtesy of Doris Harvey

A view of Benton the summer before the fire Photo courtesy of Doris Harvey
A view of Main Street, looking south. The Benton Store Company is the brick building on the left. After years of operation as a hardware store and as a plumbing store, it is now operating under the original name. It is currently an antique store. All of the buildings in this picture were spared from the fire.

Before the evening sun disappeared, Benton was unexpectedly and dramatically transformed.

By mid-morning after the train arrived from Bloomsburg, people made their way to the baseball field to see the first game of a double header between the Benton and Bloomsburg baseball teams. Following the game that Benton won by a score of nine to seven, many out of town guests went to the dining rooms at the two hotels. Exchange and McHenry House, to have lunch. Early in the afternoon the two teams and their many fans boarded the train to Bloomsburg where they played the second game. Others had gone on picnics to Grassmere Park, five miles north of town, and some went to the Millville Fourth of July celebration. By afternoon Benton had a much different tempo than in the morning. Instead of a bustling and active place, it had grown quiet since many of its inhabitants had left.

What was a peaceful afternoon suddenly ended a few minutes after three o'clock when frantic shouts of "fire" came from the area around George Crossley's blacksmith shop and barn on Center Street, about a half block east of Third Street. Clyde Hirleman, a borough councilman, who lived nearby on Third Street was mowing his yard when he noticed the barn on fire. He quickly ran to the borough hall on the southwest corner of Third and Center Streets to ring the fire bell. "In a few minutes I was back and had 100 feet 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."

The home of Dr. Patterson, half a block from where the fire started. This house on Main Street will be the new home of the Old Filling Station. This house was the only house on the block that did not burn. Photo courtesy of Doris Harvey

It quickly became apparent that much of community was in serious danger as the fire was spreading so rapidly. Since so many people were away attending Fourth of July activities, there were not enough men to fight the fire. A combination of other factors further compounded the problem. A strong north wind fanned the flames toward the southern part of the town. Every gust of wind that buffeted the burning structures made mainly of wood with wooden shingles created an incessant shower of burning missiles falling on other buildings and igniting them. Robert E. Kline, a young boy age thirteen who witnessed the fire, remembered the problem of burning shingles. "Practically all the buildings had roofs of wooden shingles — [they] were sucked into the air by the fire and blown onto other roofs." Another observer believed the fire must have been underway for some time before anyone discovered it. "When the alarm was sounded the whole town was being enveloped in a volume of smoke and a minute later a big blaze broke forth from the smoke and swept along the street with great rapidity."

Benton did not have the means to battle this ranging inferno. Lacking a public water system people had to use wells and Fishing Creek to get water for their buckets. The fire apparatus was woefully lacking; a chemical engine was worthless in combating a large and fast spreading fire. The other piece of equipment, an old-fashioned hand pumper, long in disuse, did not work. The small amount of fire hose proved useless due to its deteriorated condition.

As news of the fire spread, there was the hope that outside help would quickly arrive. Unfortunately, this did not happen. Miss Bessie Mordan, a school teacher, recounted how the news reached the Millville celebration. "The drums beat to call attention of the crowd and people rushed to the band stand to hear the announcement, "To residents of Benton: Many homes in Benton are afire and flames are spreading fast." Traveling a distance of twelve miles by horse and buggy was too far for people to return soon enough to offer much help in fighting the fire.

People in Benton were critical of the B. & S. Railroad for its slow response in providing assistance for getting help to the town. A slow moving log train delayed a number of lumbermen coming to help from Jamison City, seven miles to the north. When Bloomsburg learned about the fire and the call for assistance, the members of the Winona and Friendship Fire Companies responded. Paul Harman, one of the firemen, recalled the event: "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 pump and a hand car of hose on. Then everyone who could get on the gondola did so and we sure made a fast trip to Benton." Despite this effort, by the time they got to Benton in late afternoon, fire had reached its climax after devouring numerous businesses and homes in a three-block area before it reached Fishing Creek. Unfortunately, the pumper proved to be of limited value. After putting it into use to draw water from Fishing Creek, firemen had to stop using it because it drew in too much sand and gravel. Then a small part broke making its use further limited.

Compounding these setbacks, The Wilkes-Barre Record reported a great deal of confusion, misdirected efforts, and poor organization in fighting the fire. With an absence of leadership and a kind of wild excitement that prevailed, it became difficult to develop a coherent strategy to battle the expanding flames. "It is believed by some that had the men on the scene formed bucket brigades and worked in a systematic manner in pouring water over buildings in the path of the flames that the fire could have been confined in a smaller area." Instead, the volunteers directed their attention to try and save the homes that were on fire. The effort failed, and an uncontrollable wildfire rapidly crossed streets and spread from one block to another. It was a terrifying time with the swelling clouds of smoke, bellowing roar of burning buildings, intense heat, and children's screams of fright. People felt helpless and distraught as they watched their property destroyed. There were many faces disfigured with anguish, soot smeared, and tear stained.

	The large mound on the left is all that remains of the ice house. The building burned, the contents did not. Part of the printing press of the Argus can be seen on the right center.

Two and half-hours after the fire started it destroyed the equivalent of four blocks, an area of about five acres. The boundaries of the block where it started consisted of Center Street on the north, Third Street on the west, Main Street on the east, and Market Street on the south. Only the home of Dr. Isaac E. Patterson on the northeast corner survived. The borders for the only three blocks included Market Street on the north between Third Street on the west and First Street on the east, and Colley Street on the south. In this area two homes on the southwest corner of Colley and Third Streets and the Presbyterian Church escaped destruction.

Picture taken July 4 or 5, 1910 and is courtesy of Bob and Ann Edwards

Flames jumped to a small section of a fourth block, the east side of Main Street on the corner of Market Street, and destroyed a building. The fire destroyed one-third of the town, sixty structures, leaving an ugly path of smoldering ashes of former homes, stores, barns, and outbuildings. Thirty homes mainly along Market and Two Half Streets burned, representing fourteen percent of town's dwelling units. This left 200 people homeless which was twenty-eight percent of the population.

				The Opera House, now known as the Benton Town Hall. This picture was dated 1908.
Main at Market after the fire. The Opera House stands in the background.

As would be expected, people wanted to know how the fire began. Newspaper accounts in the Mountain Echo, The Wilkes-Barre Record, and the Dushore Sullivan Review all reported exploding firecrackers tossed on some hay or straw at Crossley's barn caused the fire. A county history, Historical and Biographical Annals of Columbia and Montour Counties Pennsylvania, published in 1915 repeated the same explanation. Robert E. Kline in an interview seventy-five years after the fire cited the firecracker account but also said: "There were many stories floating around as to how the fire started and that one may be right."' However, he did not identify what the other stories were. A careful review of he Argus, Benton's newspaper, revealed a complete omission of any account on how the fire started and who was responsible for starting it. For the local newspaper to avoid the subject seemed uncharacteristic of journalistic practices. Nor was there ever any public investigation to learn the cause or discover the individual or individuals that caused the disaster. Apparently, the community accepted the firecracker account for causing the fire, a careless accident.

The town suffered a serious economic loss with twenty establishments lying in ruin constituting fifty-six percent of the business community. This meant many employees were now without jobs. Destruction of the Exchange Hotel and Peoples' Department Store came to $25,000 and $20,000 respectively. The lumberyard of Pennington & Seeley lost over 200,000 feet of lumber worth $2,500. The property losses eroded the borough's property tax base. The estimated cumulative property damages from the fire came to $300,000. In today's dollars this would be equivalent to five and half million dollars. Not all of the owners had insured their property, and some carried too little insurance. Fire insurance rates were rather high in Benton, $27.50 per one thousand dollars of value, since it did not have a public water system and had only a very limited fire protection capability. The Argus reported only $100,000 of insurance would be paid out, representing one-third of the loss.

Miraculously, no one died in the fire. Only four individuals reported having injuries. One of these and the most serious was Rosa Hess, a seventy years old woman who lived on Two and Half Street. While trying to save some of her possessions she received serious burns on her face and hands. She spent several weeks in Bloomsburg's Ratri Hospital recovering from her wounds.

An editorial in the Argus three days after the fire praised the Benton citizens for their spirit and resolve in dealing with the dreadful devastation that blighted their beautiful community. It reminded the readers that if the fire had occurred during the night, the consequences could have been greater along with a possibility of many deaths. The Argus editor, Percy Brewington, commented on the spirit of brotherhood that prevailed in the town.

Too much cannot be said of the generosity of those who escaped the fire. They threw open wide the doors of their homes and made the victims as welcome as though they were their own families. Food, shelter and clothing has (sic] been given freely, and the people of Benton can feel proud that all her citizens were eager and willing, and did lend a helping hand in time of need.

An editorial in the Argus three days after the fire praised the Benton citizens for their spirit and resolve in dealing with the dreadful devastation that blighted their beautiful community. It reminded the readers that if the fire had occurred Three weeks later the Argus printed a letter from Chief Burgess Dr. J. B. Laubach who also commended the citizens for their generous hospitality. "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 the fellow men." He noted this was not a short-term commitment. "They have done and still are doing their part nobly."

Two days after the fire a large public assembly of the citizens met at Methodist Episcopal Church in the evening, chaired by Chief Burgess Laubach, to discuss the state of affairs facing them. It was a time to rally the community to make a come back and ward off feelings of despair. The meeting recommended the appointment of a committee that would encourage and render assistance to property owners to rebuild. The group adopted other resolutions. Bentonians "will confront the situation bravely and that out of the ruins we will endeavor to emerge and rebuild the town more beautiful and substantial than every before." They offered expressions of thanks to area people for their sympathy and support, specifically, the help that came from Jamison City and Bloomsburg. Unanimously, they approved an allocation of $500 from the poor relief fund to meet the most urgent cases requiring aid, and if this were not sufficient, to use an additional $500. A very important outcome of the meeting was the establishment of a Relief Committee consisting of J. B. Laubach, A. R. Pennington, President of Borough Council, Dr. M. McHenry, and three women, Abbie Krickbaum, Nora Albertson, and Josephine Winley, each representing one of three churches. It would be responsible for adopting the procedures for distributing contributions that were beginning to come to the community for the fire victims.

The Relief Committee became a safety net that enabled the people to start the process of recovering from their losses. There were twenty-nine families left homeless, and some had nothing more than the clothes they were wearing. Response from the area outside of Benton to its tragedy was immediate and generous. When the committee made its final report at the end of September, it had received $3,896.56; the dollar value in 2002 would be equal to $71,040.67. Sixty-seven percent of the funds, $2,615.26, came from Columbia County communities that established committees to raise money and supplies for the victims. Bloomsburg and Berwick donated the two largest amounts, $837.00 and 674.75 respectively. Aside from the monetary contributions, there was also a wide assortment of items such as food, clothing, bedding, lines, dishes, and lumber given. The B. & S. Railroad provided free freight service for articles sent to Benton. Forty-three recipients received cash assistance with $73.98 as the average amount. Columbia County Commissioners came to Benton and announced they would provide tax relief to the Benton fire victims. Any property owner who lost a building would have the valuation of the lot reduced to $50.00.

Throughout the summer and into the fall contractors began to work at rebuilding homes and businesses. An Argus headline at the end of July announced what was happening in Benton: "Rising Form the Ashes with a Mighty Leap." The newspaper reported extensively on the active rebuilding underway with ten buildings going up and eleven more by the end of the year. Contracts had already been signed to build about half of the buildings destroyed. Within a year there were twenty-two houses rebuilt. Outside of the fire zone, there were six new ones, making a total of twenty-eight, just two less than what existed before the fire. The Argus described them as representing a better class of construction and in most cases more attractive. However, rebuilding the business district occurred at a slow pace; three buildings were under construction and possibly two more to be built.

Near the end of Chief Burgess Laubach's term in the fall of 1911 The Argus published a letter he wrote to the residents commenting on the tragedy's impact:

Thirty-six homes had been destroyed by the flames and over two hundred persons had been rendered destitute. It was then that you came forward with shelter, food and clothing so splendidly that not one of the unfortunates was without comfortable quarters' and plenty to eat and wear. One of the characteristics of trouble is that it brings to light the charity which had before lain dormant and perhaps unsuspected. We are all much nobler at heart than we think each other. We believe that the people of Benton were generous at heart, bur it required that catastrophe to reveal how great that generous spirit really was. Now that it has been demonstrated, we shall all believe in one another more than we ever did before.

Laubach also counseled the town not to forger what people had learned from our disaster. He felt the fire stirred the people from an almost robot pattern of every daily life so they could discovered their collective strength and resolve to overcome adversity that faced community. "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."~ He concluded his letter by appealing to the residents to forego imagined grievances and actions creating suspicions, recognize the right of different opinions from one's own view, and accept decisions supported by the majority.

The magnitude of the fire and economic loss prompted a call for the borough to adopt building code regulations. The Council moved quickly and enacted two ordinances addressing this issue on July 11, 1910. First, it established the office of Building Inspector and required a building permit before any construction or repair of a building could take place. To receive a permit the applicant had to present plans and written specifications for the project. The building inspector's responsibility was to determine if the project would meet safety standards before any work could begin. The second ordinance prohibited the building of wooden barns, stables, carriage houses, or other out buildings that opened on any of the streets in the town. It also mandated that fireproof materials had to be used for the roof on a new building or when reconstructing an existing structure. In another effort to reduce the risks of fire, the council decided to send notices requiring building owners to repair defective flues that the building inspector had reported.

If Benton were to make major strides to reduce the risks of another major fire, it had to do more than pass these two ordinances. It needed either a public or private water utility in order to have fire hydrants and a source of water. After the fire the town must have recalled the referendum outcome six years earlier on July 12, 1904, when an overwhelming vote of 104 to 35 favored increasing the borough's indebtedness by $11,000 to build a water system.29 Council then adopted an ordinance on June 6, 1904, authorizing its construction. However, the project never came to fruition due to litigation instituted by a group of eighteen taxpayers. They opposed any increase in taxes to finance it. "Contracting debt for the erection of said water work...is unwise and is an extravagant, improper and illegal expenditure of the public monies of said Borough." Council knowing the town wanted a water system and conscious of the past legal fight over the borough's effort to build one, decided on February 6, 1911, to grant a water utility franchise to the Wyoming Construction Company. By allowing a private company to build a waterworks for the community, it would save the taxpayers from having to finance the project. This was a practical approach since many of the property-owners endured losses in the fire. Council also authorized the expenditure of funds to purchase fire-fighting apparatus for the Benton Fire Company on June 19, 1913. Finally after a number of delays the company completed the water system in August, 1913.

The first major test for Benton's new fire department occurred on November 12, 1913, when the planing mill owned by R. T. Smith & Son caught fire resulting in an estimated loss of $25,000. Although the firemen were unable to save the plant since the fire had been under way for sometime before they arrived, they did succeeded in containing and preventing the fire from spreading to other buildings. The Argus editor believed the town's new fire protection "...saved thousands of dollars worth of property, which would unquestionably have been destroyed had it not been for the water and up-to-date fire fighting apparatus."

The Benton fire of 1910 was the worst disaster in the town's history. The community discovered how extremely vulnerable it was. It happened so suddenly that it exposed their helplessness in defending themselves. Despite the immensity of their losses, the community and the surrounding area came together and exhibited a collective will to overcome this tragedy. The people did rebuild their town and finally succeeded in getting a waterworks to provide far greater fire protection than they ever had before.

		A Kemp Studio photo of Two and a Half Street just a year after the fire. Everything at the end of the street had burned and had been rebuilt by the time this picture was taken.   Picture dated 1911.

George A. Turner, President of the Columbia County Historical and Genealogical Society and member of the Bloomsburg Town Council, is a former Professor of History at Bloomsburg University and holds the rank of Professor Emeritus. Professor Turner presented the history of the Benton Fire of July 4, 1910, at the September 17, 2001, meeting of the North Mountain Historical Society. The article appeared in Carver, a journal published by Bloomsburg University, v. 20 (2002). It is reprinted with permission from the author and Bloomsburg University.