Precious Blood Church Fire Memorial - South Hadley, MA
Posted by: 
neoc1
N 42° 13.368 W 072° 34.372
18T E 700312 N 4677366
In 1875, a fire in the Precious Blood Church took the lives of 78 people.
Waymark Code: WMF6KR
Location: Massachusetts, United States
Date Posted: 09/01/2012
Views: 3
Precious Blood Church of Holyoke was part of complex of buildings - a church, school, rectory and convent - bounded by Cabot, South East, Hamilton, and Roberto Clemente (then Park) Streets in the industrial part of Holyoke. It was built for and by French immigrants who came to Holyoke to work in the mills. On May 27, 1875 a candle flame ignited a curtain which started a devastating fire. Panic ensued and a crush of people prevented many from reaching the back exit. Seventy-eight lives were lost, making it one of the deadliest fires in American history.
Many of the victims were buried in a common grave in the Precious Blood Cemetery in nearby South Hadley, MA. In the center of this cemetery there is a monument dedicated to the memory of those who died in this horrific fire. Today the convent and the rectory remain but the church and the school have been demolished.
A polished black granite monument has an inscribed image of the church and the date MAY 27, 1875 and at the base the words PRECIOUS BLOOD CHURCH.
The other side contains a fleur-de-lis and the inscription:
DEDICATED IN 2002
GIVING HONOR TO ALL THOSE
WHO LOST THEIR LIVES
AT PRECIOUS BLOOD CHURCH
MAY 27, 1875
A bronze plaque has a double column list of names and ages
Name - Age
Antoine Auger 75
Helene Blais 20
Marceline Blanchard 22
Marcelline Blanchard 22
Marie Boisvert 15
Sophie Boudreau 37
Monsieur Boulanger unknown
Augustine Brisson 17
Joseph Chatelle 20
Delia Coache 16
Delima Cote 22
Mathilde Daigneau 13
Pierre Daigneau 10
Zoe Daigneau 36
Rosalie Daviau 21
Victoria Deri 11
Alphonsine Desjardin 22
Delia Desjardin 23
Dometilde Desjardin 44
Louis Desjardin 59
Rosalie Desjardin 21
Christine Dion 37
Celina Doucette 20
Merceline Dufresne 17
Selina Dufresne 52
Marceline Dupont 44
Philomene Dupont 15
Olive Emond 55
Cora Forgue 11
Zoe Forgue 48
Benjamin Fortier 20
Euphonzine Fortier 11
Angelique Fremont 17
Julie Girard 16
Mary Girard 41
Marie Louise Goyette 50
Mary Grandchamp 23
Philomene Grandchamp 21
Almida Hamel 20
Lucy Hicks 21
Mary Hicks 25
Marie Louise Jetter 33
Cyrille Lachance 19
Marcelline Lachance 19
Adele Lachapelle 16
Rose Lachapelle 13
Exilda Lacoste 16
Azilda LaFrance 27
Rosalie Lagasse 54
Exilde Langdeau 10
Marie Langdeau 20
Jean Baptiste Langevin 40
Seline Laplante 18
Celiste Larive 50
Madame Lepreux unknown
Monsieur Lepreux unknown
Joseph Messier 46
Ida Meunier 19
Alphonsine Moreau 15
Fabien Moreau 54
Isaiah Moreau 26
Armiac Morin 12
Isaiah Morin 22
Hermille Paquin 20
Josephine Paquin 14
Mary Pare 20
Louise Payette 17
Matilde Payette 16
Gaspard Pellerin 23
Mary Pion 27
Onezine Pion 55
Celine Roberte 9
Edmund Roberte 11
Delima Roger 30
Fabien St. Pierre 25
Louise Tetreault 22
Jacob Theriault 64
Josephine Viger 40
Below the plaque, on the base, is the inscription:
EARTH HAS NO SORROW THAT HEAVEN CANNOT HEAL