It’s Wayback Wednesday, sponsored by Jamie Lockwood, broker/owner of Sutton Group Muskoka Realty!
This is the Excelsoir, or what was left of it. The boat had been moored to the dock in the Muskoka River behind Hutcheson and Son (now Algonquin Outfitters) when a fire broke out on Main Street on April 18, 1894. The store owners loaded the boat with boots and shoes rescued from the building. It would prove to be the wrong decision. Burning oil had flowed through a drain into the river, setting it ablaze too. In an effort to save the boat and its cargo, its captain’s son cut the mooring and the boat drifted directly into the flames. There were no people aboard but the boat and its contents were victim to the fire.
In 1894, Huntsville had no building code, or “fire limit”, to minimize the danger of fire. But it was at one of the few stores in the village that was considered fireproof—Henry S. May’s hardware store, the third store west of Main and Brunel (where the Nutty Chocolatier and Muskoka Bicycle are today)—that the fire started on this fateful day.
Garbage burning behind the building ignited a huge supply of coal oil and turpentine (50 barrels worth). At 10 minutes past noon, the alarm was sounded. The flames ripped through the wooden buildings. Barrels of gunpowder and dynamite exploded. The townspeople rushed to save themselves and their belongings.
The village was ill-equipped to deal with a large fire to begin with, and a southeast wind did nothing to help their efforts. The fire spread rapidly, destroying almost all of the buildings between the swing bridge and West Street. Chief Constable Fred Francis desperately led a bucket brigade to try to stop the fire from spreading.
In total, the fire caused $125,000 in damage (the equivalent of several million today), destroyed 32 buildings, and shut down Huntsville’s business district.
The following week, Huntsville council established a fire limit for all new construction, requiring buildings on Main Street between the bridge and Dufferin to have walls made from stone, brick or iron, or clad in brick or stone.
Photo and details courtesy of Huntsville: With Spirit and Resolve and Muskoka Heritage Place.
See more Wayback Wednesday photos here.
Don’t miss out on Doppler!
Sign up here to receive our email digest with links to our most recent stories.
Local news in your inbox so you don’t miss anything!
Click here to support local news
0 Comments