1849 Great Fire - Owego, NY - New York Historical Markers on Waymarking.com

text: "1849 Great Fire site of Hall of Sons of Temoerance where fire began. Three stores left standing 104 buildings burned exclusive of barns."

"The Owego Fire Department was founded in August 1828 after the village was plagued by numerous fires. The department’s original firefighting apparatus was a hand-pulled hose wagon where the water was supplied by hand operated pumps mounted in wagons. Water was dumped into the wagon by a line of people using water buckets. As technology progressed, water reservoirs were built above the village to provide water flow to a fire hydrant system. As Owego grew, newer two and three story buildings were built in the downtown area. As a result the old hand pumping equipment was not adequate to pump water high enough to reach the upper floors of these buildings. A direct result of not having adequate equipment was a large conflagration now known as “The Great Fire of Owego.” The fire broke out on September 27, 1849 in the Temperance Hall of the Ely building. In the end, a total of 104 buildings within the business district were completely burned to the ground."

Marker Name: 1849 Great Fire Marker Type: Roadside Agency: Owego Reflections - a celebration of 200 years Ahwaga 1787 Owego 1987 Dedication Date: 1987 City/Town/Village Name: Owego County: Tioga Region: Finger Lakes (Region 3) Website: [Web Link]

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