The Hinckley Fire - Hinckley, Minnesota
N 46° 01.243 W 092° 56.409
15T E 504632 N 5096351
Located on Cty Hwy 61 north of downtown Hinckley, Minnesota.
Waymark Code: WME1RD
Location: Minnesota, United States
Date Posted: 03/22/2012
Views: 5
Plaque reads:
The Hinckley Fire
Between three and five o'clock on the afternoon of September 1, 1894, a raging forest fire driven by strong southwest winds swept over the town of Hinckley, killing 248 residents. The coflagration burned over 480 square miles in parts of five counties, also consuming the surrounding towns of Brook Park, mission Creek, Miller, Partridge, and Sandstone. At least 418 people died in the disaster.
Trains of the St. Paul and Duluth railroad and the Eastern Minnesota Railroad carried nearly 500 people to safety through the burning countryside.More than 1,500 individuals lost their homes and possessions, with fire relief efforts receiving donations from as far away as London and even Turkey as news of the tragedy spread. The mass graves of the Hinckley townspeople who dies in the fire are marked by a state monument in Lutheran Memorial Cemetery.
The Hinckley fire was among the worst of many that followed the end of large scale pine logging operations in northern Minnesota. As the virgin red and white pine was removed, a tinder-dry refuse of stumps, slashings, and brush provided ready fuel for several other disastrous fires, including those at Baudette in 1910 and at Cloquet in 1918.
Plaque erected by the Minnesota Historical Society 1985
Marker Type:: Roadside
|
Visit Instructions:
A photo of the 'Marker' or 'Plaque' is required to identify the location, plus a picture of the 'Historic Site'.