05/21/2026
“A Roaring Mass of Flames”
The Most Disastrous and Destructive Fire In Oswego’s History.
134 years ago, on the night of May 20th, 1876;
A few minutes after 11 P. M. on May 20th, 1892, an alarm for fire was sounded. It came from alarm box No. 12 located on the corner of East First Street and East Seneca Street, by William Fitzgibbons, who saw a blaze on the southwest corner of the Washington Mills through his bedroom window.
Henry Weigelt, driver of Hook and Ladder No. 1 was seated out in front of the firehouse on West Second Street, thinking of going to bed when the alarm sounded. He pulled the horses and was hitching up the truck, when the other men at the station came sliding down the pole. Pulling out in the night, he swung onto Bridge street, and from the lower bridge he could see the fire in one of the elevators.
The fire, fueled by a strong breeze from the Southwest, increased every second and in less than ten minutes there was a great red glow reflected into the skies and the Washington Mills was doomed. Within forty minutes after the initial discovery of the fire, the six massive elevators and mills, that were a name stay of Oswego, were a blaze.
The most disastrous and destructive fire to ever plague Oswego, N. Y., had begun.
The Fire Department answered the alarm promptly, as they always did and still do today. Attention was set on the Washington Mills, but the largest extension ladder was too short to reach the roof of the over seven-story structure. A shorter one was thrown up against the Corn Exchange next south. Over all this was a line of hose that was sent up with another ladder with which the firemen could reach the roof of the Washington. Five of the six elevators and mills were attached to each other, effectively making it one giant structure.
Steamers No. 2 and 3 were set to work pumping water from the race in East Cayuga Street and the large Button Engine, which was kept for heavy work, was stationed on East Seneca Street. Two streams were sent from each steamer, and there were others from hydrants as well. The streams, however, were useless. The heavy brick walls in the front, together with the strong wind, kept the fire only to the river side, and the streams could only reach the burning buildings through windows and doors on land.
As the fire burned, the wind increased, and the flames were sent high into the sky and rolled out until they reached half way across the river. Huge sparks were taken up by the wind and carried hundreds of feet onto the lumber district of the west side of Oswego and soon a volunteer bucket brigade was at work there.
The woodwork on the front of the Washington did not last long, and the fire raging within was watched by thousands. The sky was one vast aurora, and the reflection could be seen plainly in Syracuse, and very distinctly at Baldwinsville. The streets were crowded with spectators.
On the West Side, from the back of the Academy of Music, up to the Northwestern Elevator, there were hundreds of spectators to whom, at times, the fierce heat was almost unbearable, but they never flinched. As quoted from the Oswego Daily Palladium; “One party of young ladies who had every appearance of a hasty toilet made themselves merry on the wharf with a bag of cookies.”
While all this was going on in the first hour of the fire, the firemen were on the East Side of the river working like heroes to save the Marine Elevator, owned by Thomson Kingsford. The steamers were forced to abandon their positions on East Cayuga Street. One of them was sent to the West Side lumber district to fight the fire on the island in the river; the others were put to work on the North side of the Marine elevator and were throwing tons of water up against the iron sides of the building.
Between the Marine and Merchants’ was an area about one hundred feet wide. Across this space the flames would leap and touch the iron sides of the Marine Elevator. “The heat was frightful, but the firemen stuck to their task with blistered hands and faces until it was utterly impossible to remain a minute longer” (Keep in mind, they had no gloves or breathing apparatus’).
The Marine was a wooden structure, well-built and firm, with an outside sheeting of corrugated iron. Right under the eaves on the river side facing the fire were several windows without protection on the outside, and it was these that the flames caught hold of. The fight was an unequal one. The heat was so intense that the iron was heated to a red glow, and inside of the elevator it was unbearable, almost suffocating.
There was a great danger from explosion, but the firemen stuck to their work until the last hope of saving the structure was gone. The last man out of the Marine Elevator, Assistant Chief John Nacey, who made his way to a window from which dangled a rope; and without haste, he began lowering himself, hand over hand to the ground. Shortly after, there was a muffled sound, and the roof began to heave. The rope snapped just as Assistant Chief Nacey touched the ground.
The firemen kept working upon buildings and offices in East First street and succeeded in confining the fire to the elevators and mills, but the entire line was swept away.
While the fire on the East Side was burning; the fire on the lumber piles on the island docks on the West Side, was becoming larger. It was impossible for Foreman O’Gorman, who had been placed in charge of the work there by Chief Blackburn, to get a stream to the island.
The citizens lent their aide, and the Life-Saving crew also fought the island fire. Citizens dropped a canal boat from the east side near the lower bridge down to the island dock with lines, and made her a bridge for getting hose and firemen across.
There was numerous small fires around West First Street which the public with pails extinguished. The Wright & Boyle sash and door factory worked their immense pumps and saved their lumber on the west side and also the Great Northwestern Elevator.
Two or three times during the night, the Northwestern elevator had narrow escapes. A large live coal settled on a window ledge and began to burn. Lines of hose had been run through the building; the roof and sides were kept wet and the danger was averted.
The old shingle mill at the corner of West First and VanBuren streets took fire from sparks and was only saved from total destruction by the hard work of volunteers. The schooner "Mystic Star," suffered the loss of her topsails after live sparks settled in them before they could be extinguished. Captain William Scott of the tug boat "Navagh," burned his hands severely in helping to extinguish the fire.
By 12 A. M., the fire had been burning for an hour, and was at its height. Mayor Allen telegraphed to Fulton and Syracuse for assistance. An answer came back promptly that a steamer and hose carriage would leave for Oswego at once. The Fulton firemen with their two hose carts arrived promptly. But through some misunderstanding in the railroad offices, the Syracuse firemen were delayed and did not reach Oswego until nearly three o’clock in the morning. By that time, the fire had gotten under control.
Chief Blackburn and his men worked like heroes. It was a hard fire to fight. They did as well as possible under the circumstances. As quoted by the Palladium, “Had there been a powerful fire boat in the river, the result might have been different.”
The origin of the fire is unknown. It was said that the first responders saw a man moving around inside the third story windows with a lamp in the Washington Mills, supposedly the watchman. The doors were locked and while the men were trying to get them open, the watchman came up from the street and said he had not been in the mill with a lamp.
At day break, the damage had been done and rain began falling, aiding the fireman in their work with the lumber fire. The vigil over the ruins of Oswego was continued all day and streams of water poured upon them.
The brave firemen from then are due all praises for fighting this blaze with the equipment they had available to them. “No human effort could have stayed the progress of the flames once they laid hold of the great wooden buildings. The men went where it seemed impossible to exist and only gave up the struggle after they had been driven back inch by inch and the iron covering had been heated red-hot. Chief Blackburn, Assistant Chief Nacey and the Foremen of the several companies handled their men in a manner highly commendable. They asked no fireman to go where they would not, and the streams were distributed to do the most effective work.”
It was reported that there was no fatalities from this fire damages exceeded over $1,000,000 (Abt. $40 million today).
The Oswego Daily Palladium reported; “The disaster that befell Oswego last night, in the almost total destruction of her milling and elevator interests, is most unfortunate and enough to take the vim out of almost any community. But Oswego will rise from her ashes.”
The following is the names of those brave firemen from that night. May they all be remembered.
Oswego Fire Department; Quarterly Muster Roll - 20 May 1892:
Department Officers:
Robert G. Blackburn – Chief Engineer
John Nacy – Assistant Chief Engineer
Geo Tully – Depot Keeper
Steamer Company No. 1:
W. S. Robinson – Foreman
M. Danaher – Assistant Foreman
Wm. Fouse – Engineer
Frank Bowgie – Stroker
John Dempsey – Fireman
St. M. Steains – Call Man
John Four – Call Man
Geo. Calkins – Call Man
John Stennessey – Call Man
Jon Stennessey – Driver
Wright & Hunt – Drawing Engine
Steamer Company No. 2:
M. O’Gorman – Foreman
Steny Nettles – Assistant Forman
C. B. Fayette – Fireman
Geo Fayette – Call Man
John Woods – Call Man
Ed. Fogarty – Driver
Steamer Company No. 3:
Robert Wright – Foreman
A. W. Gorsline – Fireman
John Tulley – Driver
John Brackin – Call Man
John R. Tully – Call Man
Andrew Dewitt – Call Man
John Moriarty – Call Man
R. C. Cullivan – Engineer
Wm. Connell – Assistant Engineer
F. A. Clarke – Drawing Engine
Hook & Ladder Company No. 1:
Wm. Williams – Foreman
Dave Burke – Assistant Foreman
A. H. Briggs – Fireman
Henry Weigelt – Driver
John Dougherty – Call Man
Milo Staynes – Call Man
Alfred Moran – Call Man
Frank Walker – Call Man
Ed Whitman – Call Man
Dave Finn – Call Man
