The Great Fire

On September 27, 1887, "The Big Fire" burned and damaged the majority of the east side of Sanford. The fire began at Altree's Bakery on First Street and quickly spread through the wooden buildings in the city. The Sanford Fire Department helped extinguish the fire. Buildings such as the Sanford House Hotel were spared by placing wet blankets on the roof. Many of those buildings that were destroyed in the fire were immediately rebuilt using brick.

View of the devastation caused by the "Great Fire of 1887" along the eastern portion of First Street.

Another image of the devastation caused by the "Great Fire of 1887" at the intersection of First Street and Palmetto Avenue.

This photograph shows the Sanford Fire Department, celebrating their first anniversary, assembled in front of The Church of the Holy Cross, Sanford's first church, built in 1873. The church would be destoryed  during the Great Fire of 1887, which consumed much of the eastern half of the city. The fire broke out on September 20, 1887 and burned for two days. The Fire Department's primitive equipment and the fact that the city's waterworks did not have adqueate fire fighting equipment, contributed to the severity of the fire. In all, the Great Fire, destroyed four blocks and numerous stores in the business district, including a portion of the Sanford Hotel. In the aftermath of the fire, the city increased its fire protection measures, by improving water pressure and the construction of numerous fire hydrants.