The 1900 Delamar fire

Mining towns, like most any town?in the early days of the west were built?of wood, canvas and native rock. Such towns were highly vulnerable to fire.?The drying effects of the hot weather?in Nevada mining towns in particular?meant fire could strike at any moment?with disastrous consequences.

Case in point, on September 23, 1871?Pioche, Nevada had a fire that resulted?in a catastrophic explosion of over 300?barrels of black powder. The blast and?subsequent fire was reported to have?leveled much of the downtown area,?which according to the city maps at the?time would be roughly from the Thompson Opera House up the hill to the top of?Main Street. Stones, timbers and debris?from the explosion fell a quarter-of-a-mile away.

Pioche had another devastating fire?in 1948. And even though they were not?mining towns, most everyone knows?of the famous 1871 Chicago fire and the?1906 San Francisco earthquake and fire.?The mountain mining town of Delamar, Nevada had a disastrous fire itself?in the spring of 1900.

According to author George Goodman, ?The air had been dry that year,?hot and dry for several weeks. The?town was like a tinder box, just waiting?for a spark. Then on (Tuesday) May 22,?somehow a fire began in a lean-to at the?Edwards Saloon. Even though it was?quickly noticed, the fire spread rapidly?through the wooden structure buildings, many of which shared a common?wall, or just a few feet apart. Some of the?fire spread to the other side of the street?as well. Delamar had no real fire department, and a few buckets of water was?not going to accomplish anything. The?town was doomed, and the 1,500 residents all knew it.?

The June 5 issue of the Delamar Lode?newspaper reported on the fire. ?No?casualties, though 25 families lost their?homes? was part of the headline. ?The?fire started in a log attachment to the Edwards saloon building about 4:30 in the?afternoon.?

The report notes, ?It seemed for a time?that the fire could be stopped where it?started, but it got away, burning the saloon and adjoining buildings to the East.?In a few minutes the Schaefer Grand (Opera House) caught and was soon raised.?A small building that was dragged into?the street…caught and carried the fire to?Mrs. Bawden?s houses, which were soon?destroyed…a clean sweep was made to?and including the Episcopal church of?which only the stone walls of the basement remain.? The fire swept further?along the main street, devouring everything, sparing nothing.

The paper reported the dwellings of?Schaefer, Wertheimer, Dr. Jennsson,?the Nesbitts, Martin, Newman and Edwards were destroyed. Some businesses?were emptied of as much merchandise?as could be, before the flames reached?their location.

Goodman writes, ?By suppertime, the?whole area was a rolling sea of flame,?smoke and burning embers.?

The Lode reported, ?Ben Sanders? law?office was pulled to pieces but fire passed?to Bert Dooley?s store, which was broken?into and many of the goods carried out…?Dr. Jennsson lost all of his furniture and?most of his wearing apparel, $300 worth?of drugs and medicines which went up?in smoke with his residence and?office.?

The Lode also commented,??the loss of the Grand Opera?House will leave a great void to?Delamar, and it is not likely to?be replaced at an early day…the?amusement lovers of the camp?will greatly miss the fine hall.?

Some men hastily blew up?buildings further down the?street and started backfires?which eventually brought the?raging inferno to a standstill.?The same tactic would be later?used by the Army in the San?Francisco fire. But like in that?city by the bay, it would be several days before the fires would?be out enough to begin?the process of rebuilding.

And the citizens of Delamar?did just that, rebuild as soon?as possible. However, the fate?of the town was pretty much?sealed, and it was never fully?rebuilt. In 1902, Capt. Delamar?sold his mining interests and?moved on.

Still, the new owners were?able to keep the mines producing well for about another 10?years, allowing Delamar to continue to rank as the third largest?producer of gold ore in the state,?often handling about 400 tons of?ore per day and processing overall, about $13.5 million.