Hinckley Fire of 1894
Posted by: 
beagle39z
N 46° 00.661 W 092° 55.399
15T E 505936 N 5095274
The story of the Hinckley fire of September 1, 1894, is a tragic saga of destruction, terror, courage, heroism, and death.
Waymark Code: WM1NDD
Location: Minnesota, United States
Date Posted: 06/08/2007
Views: 125
Hinckley, a logging and railroad center, was laid waste by the inferno that roared through the town, sending hundreds of townspeople in flight for their lives and leaving hundreds dead in its wake. In attempting to escape the fire, people sought safety in wells, swamps, a railroad gravel pit, and the river. Heroic individuals saved many lives.
What caused this historic fire that raced across 480 square miles and burned 350,000 acres? A long drought made for tinder-dry conditions in miles of cutover forests-the wasteland resulting from the unregulated logging practices of the time. Even today, that year still stands as one of the driest on record. With blowing winds, low humidity and less than two inches of rain from May until September, the area was a prime target for a fire.
Because of the dryness of the summer, fires were common in the woods, along railroad tracks and in logging camps where loggers would set fire to their slash to clean up the area before moving on. Some loggers, of course left their debris behind giving any fire more fuel on which to grow. Saturday, September 1st, 1894 began as another oppressively hot day with fires surrounding the towns and two major fires that were burning about five miles to the south. To add to the problem, the temperature inversion that day added to the heat, smoke and gases being held down by the huge layer of cool air above. The two fires managed to join together to make one large fire with flames that licked through the inversion finding the cool air above. That air came rushing down into the fires to create a vortex or tornado of flames which then began to move quickly and grew larger and larger turning into a fierce firestorm. The fire first destroyed the towns of Mission Creek and Brook Park before coming into the town of Hinckley. When it was over the Firestorm had completely destroyed six towns, and over 400 square miles lay black and smoldering. The firestorm was so devastating that it lasted only four hours but destroyed everything in its path.
A 37-mile segment of the Munger Trail memorializes the route the fire took between Hinckley and Barnum, the suffering and death it caused, and the devastation it wrought.
Note: In the four trenches located behind the monument lie the remains of two hundred and forty eight men, women and children, residents of Hinckley, who perished in the fire which this monument was erected to commemorate.
Marker Type:: Other
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Visit Instructions:
A photo of the 'Marker' or 'Plaque' is required to identify the location, plus a picture of the 'Historic Site'.