Marianna ravaged by two massive fires in two years!

Devastating fires mark the eve of war.

by Dale Cox

The devastating fires struck the block across Jackson Street
from Courthouse Square in Marianna, Florida.

The two years before the War Between the States (or Civil War) saw two of the greatest fire-related disasters in the history of Marianna, Florida.

The first came on October 28, 1859. Fire exploded from the livery stable and burned stores, offices, homes, and warehouses. One-third of the downtown business district was destroyed. This account appeared in the next day's issue of the Marianna Patriot:

About 4 o’clock p.m. yesterday (28th), fire broke out in the large livery stable owned by Mr. Wm. Nickels, and despite all the efforts to suppress it, it was in ten minutes in full blast, and spread with the fury and violence of a hurricane. It was the most terrific and appalling spectacle we ever beheld. In less than two hours from the first alarm of fire, all of that handsome row of buildings on the west side of the public square was in ashes. It began with the large liver stable and ended with the dwelling house of Mr. J.H. Brett, including the stores of H.C. King, Wm. Powers, D.B. Leslie, Jno. R. Ely & Co., the drug store of Dr. W.H. Hughes, the saddler of Mr. Thomas Wilton, the law offices of Messrs. Milton & Milton, and R.L. Smith, Esq. Loss estimated at $60,000 to $75,000. Insurance only $27,000. [1]

The structures were located in the block across Jefferson Street from the Jackson County Courthouse.

Descendants of Gov. John Milton have long owned the
Milton Insurance Agency which stands on the block where
fire destroyed their ancestor's law offices.

The names included in the article ranked among the most prominent in antebellum Marianna. William Nickels, the owner of the stables where the fire began, was a prominent merchant. His home, which no longer stands, is noted in Marianna legend as the mansion of Samuel Bellamy, husband of the ill-starred "Ghost of Bellamy Bridge."

J.H. Brett was the county constable. H.C. King, William Powers, and D.B. Leslie were prosperous merchants. John R. Ely & Company was owned by John R. Ely (Sr.), who lived in Marianna's beautiful old Ely-Criglar Mansion. Dr. W.H. Hughes was one of several physicians who lived in the city, and Thomas Wilton ran a small factory that produced saddles and leather works.

Gov. John Milton of Florida
(D) Marianna

The "law offices of Messrs. Milton & Milton" were those of Gen. John Milton and his son, William Henry Milton. The senior Milton was elected governor of Florida the next year. His son, William, went on to command Confederate cavalry forces in the 5th Florida Cavalry. Uniquely, he later introduced Armstrong Purdee - Jackson County's first African American attorney - to the practice of law. R.L. Smith, who practiced alongside the Miltons, soon commanded Company B, 15th Confederate Cavalry.

The value of the U.S. dollar has increased by 2,996.07% since 1859. The total loss from the fire in modern terms was between $1,857,643.37 and $2,322,054.22, more than the tax value of the lots and structures in the same block of Jefferson Street today!

The fire came as Marianna was celebrating what many thought would be its crowning achievement. The Western Union Telegraph line being built to connect the city to Tallahassee was just two or three days from reaching Quincy on the day of the inferno. [2]

Rebuilding started almost immediately, but a second major fire hit areas bordering courthouse square less than one year later. The cause this time was definitely arson:

The hand of the incendiary had applied the torch to the new store of Wm. Powers, and it, with the contents, together with the store house of H.O. Bassett and the livery stable of Wm. Nickels, were in ashes. The sufferers are: - Wm. Powers, loss $6,000; insured for $2,500. Henry O. Bassett, loss $3,000; no insurance. Messrs. Parker & King, loss, $7,000; insured for $6,000. W.W. Grace, daguerreotypist, lost all his stock. McClellan & Barnes, loss $500. Wm. Nickels, loss $1,500; insured for $1,000. Aside from this Messrs. Davis &c.; Wilson and Alderman, Moore & Co. suffered considerable damage from the removal of their goods. [3]

The destruction of offices of W.W. Grace, a "daguerreotypist" or photographer, explains why no pre-1860s photographs of Marianna have been found.

County records do not indicate that the arsonist was ever caught.

References:

[1] Marianna Patriot, October 29, 1859.
[2] Quincy Republican, October 29, 1859.
[2] Marianna Patriot, July 14, 1860.