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.

New mini-documentary on Battle of Natural Bridge is now online

Natural Bridge Battlefield Historic State Park

My new mini-documentary on the Battle of Natural Bridge is now online and can be viewed for free at www.exploresouthernhistory.com/nbindex.

This battle was fought on March 6, 1865 and preserved Tallahassee's status as the only Confederate capital east of the Mississippi not taken by Union troops during the War Between the States (or Civil War). Numbers of men from Jackson County took part and others were on the way when the fight took place.

Among the highest ranked officers on the field was Lieutenant Colonel W.D. Barnes of Jackson County. He assumed command of the 1st Florida Reserves, an infantry regiment, after its colonel was dashed into a tree by his horse when a cannon shell exploded nearby.

Confederate earthworks at Natural Bridge Battlefield

Barnes lived and operated a plantation in western Jackson County on the historic site of Webbville. The community had once been the county seat - and according to the U.S. Congress still holds that distinction - but unofficially lost that status when the Florida Legislature threatened to fine any public official who did not do business from the courthouse in Marianna.

Also on the field at Natural Bridge was Major William H. Milton, a noted officer and the son of Governor John Milton. Major Milton had saved Tallahassee a few days earlier when he boldly attacked a much larger force of Union troops and sailors at East River Bridge on what is now the St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge. Milton and his outnumbered Confederates drove the Federals all the way to the St. Marks Lighthouse on the shores of Apalachee Bay.  From there he could see the large flotilla of Union warships and transports offshore and realized that a major invasion was underway.

Natural Bridge of the St. Marks River

Milton's ability to provide quick and accurate information to Generals Samuel Jones and William Miller in Tallahassee allowed them to react to the threat in time to assemble sufficient troops at Natural Bridge to defeat the Federals as they came up.

Numerous other men from Jackson County took part in the fighting at Natural Bridge. Soldiers from the county were present in Confederate units that included the 2nd Florida Cavalry, 5th Florida Cavalry, 1st Florida Reserves, Milton Light Artillery, Kilcrease Light Artillery and Corps of Cadets from the West Florida Seminary. Other Jackson County residents took part in the battle on the Union side as members of the 2nd Florida U.S. Cavalry. One, Peter Pelt, was taken prisoner and executed as a deserter following the battle.

To see the new mini-documentary and learn more, please visit www.exploresouthernhistory.com/nbindex.