The city of Portland, Maine sustained the most devastating fire in its history, during the late afternoon of July 4, 1866. A large stockpile of fireworks kept in storage near Hobson’s Wharf (Commercial Street, at the base of High Street) ignited amidst what is believed to be foul play among vandals, and began a fire that spread eastward across downtown Portland. At the center of the fire’s crippling destruction was Portland’s financial and commercial district, including banks, merchants’ offices, shops, publishing operations, libraries, and shipping agencies. The major work of rebuilding Portland’s infrastructure required years of construction.
The manuscript collection Relief for the Portland Sufferers : The Great Fire, 1866 comprises approximately 5 linear feet of descriptive reports of the recovery effort in Portland, rosters of financial pledges, and personal letters which accompanied numerous private contributions of money, supplies, and assistance addressed to the office of Mayor Augustus E. Stevens, in Portland. Many of the letters include the writers’ expressions of sympathy for the city’s losses.
After the monetary donations were separated from the letters, and the donors were acknowledged (between July 1866 and early 1867), the city’s office workers set aside the letters in a 12” x 16” x 7” metal bank deposit box, with the rolled pledge rosters. The metal box and its written contents were later given directly to the Portland Public Library. The collection has been arranged into 6 series, by records type, place of origin, and date of writing.
Complete Finding Aid to this collection
The collection consists of hundreds of documents. Selections from the collection have been digitized and uploaded here. This digital collection is still a work in progress -- please stay tuned for more!
To see pictures of the city in ruins after the fire, see our collection of Stereographic Images of the Great Fire.
-
Letter from George J. Abbot, United States Consul, to Mayor Stevens
George J. Abbot
The American consul in Sheffield, England, sent a case of knives and forks to the Mayor for the benefit of the sufferers. An invoice accompanied the letter.
-
Letter from the Mayor of Belfast to the Mayor of Portland
Nehemiah Abbott
The Mayor of Belfast forwarded a box of goods that had been stolen from Portland on the night of the fire. Unfortunately, the letter he refers to in which he first wrote about the theft is not part of this collection.
-
Letter from the Clerk of the Lamp Department, Boston, to the Mayor of Portland
Geo. H. Allen
The clerk of Boston's Lamp Department introduces Mr. B.F. Hebard, a Boston lamplighter who has offered his services to Portland. Mr. Hebard "proposes to light the streets of your city free of expense."
See also the related telegram in this collection, identifier # T:MA1-0.
-
Telegram from the Clerk of the Boston Lamp Department
Geo. H. Allen
Geo. H. Allen, clerk of Boston's Lamp Department, informs the mayor of Portland that the oil and the lamplighter will be on their way to light the dark streets of Portland.
See also the letter Allen wrote introducing the lamplighter in this collection, identifier # MA10-N.
-
Letter from the Mayor of Hartford, CT, to the Mayor of Portland
Charles R. Chapman
The Mayor of Hartford expresses his sympathy and mentions that Hartford, as a center of the insurance industry, is suffering as well (although not nearly as much as Portland, he admits!).
-
Letter from Edwin A. Colby to the Mayor of Portland
Edwin A. Colby
Edwin A. Colby, a "school boy of twelve," collected $12 for the relief effort.
-
Letter from Henry Fox, Chairman, Executive Committe, to Mayor Stevens
Henry Fox
The Executive Committee that oversaw the relief fund was concerned about fraud, and requested that two policemen be assigned to investigate potential abuses.
-
Letter from the Quartermaster General's Office, Washington, D.C., to Mayor Stevens of Portland
Quartermaster General
This letter from the Quartermaster General's Office in Washington, D.C. includes an itemized list of the clothing and supplies that had been forwarded to Portland.
-
Letter from Oliver C. Jackson to the Mayor of Portland
Oliver C. Jackson
The writer of this letter is seeking information about his mother, a Portland resident.
-
Letter from Raoland Johnson of New York to the Mayor of Portland
Raoland Johnson
The writer of this letter offers a chest of oolong tea for widows who lost everything in the fire.
-
Letter from Eunie Kirtland to the Mayor of Portland
Eunie Kirtland
The letter writer and several other little girls raised money from a "little fair" that was organized by the girls.
-
Telegram from the Mayor of Cambridgeport, Mass.
J. Warren Merrill
The Mayor asks what the citizens of Cambridge can do to help the citizens of Portland. The Mayor of Portland has jotted down a reply in pencil on the back side of the telegram. Money and building materials are the most pressing need.
-
Letter from James North to the Mayor of Portland
James N. North
The letter writer proposes hiring about "twenty ladies" to sell publications by subscription.
-
Letter from Miss S. Parker
S. Parker
The former Soldier's Aid Society of Proctorsville, Vermont, donated the remainder of their funds.
-
Letter from O.L. Perry to Rev. Dr. Graham
O. L. Perry
A young Sunday school scholar sent this letter to Rev. Graham, a minister in Portland, along with his donation of one dollar which he had earned shoveling snow. Rev. Graham apparently forwarded the letter and the donation to the mayor's office.
The Portland City Directory for 1866-67 lists a Rev. Daniel M. Graham, pastor of Casco street church.
-
Letter from Katie Robertson to Mayor Stevens
Katie E. Robertson
The letter writer inquires after a man named John Bush and asks how the rebuilding is going.
-
Telegram from E.M. Stanton, Secretary of War, to the Mayor of Portland
Edwin M. Stanton
The Secretary of War, Edwin M. Stanton, telegraphed the Mayor of Portland to inform him that he had instructed the Quartermaster General to furnish as much aid as possible. See also the letter from the Quartermaster General in this collection.
-
Letter from the Mayor of Bangor to the Mayor of Portland
A. G. Wakefield
This letter accompanied a donation of $50 which was given by a minstrel troupe that had been scheduled to perform in Portland the night of the fire.
-
Relief for the Portland Sufferers : The Great Fire, 1866. Collection Finding Aid.
Portland Public Library
The manuscript collection Relief for the Portland Sufferers : The Great Fire, 1866 comprises approximately 5 linear feet of descriptive reports of the recovery effort in Portland, rosters of financial pledges, and personal letters which accompanied numerous private contributions of money, supplies, and assistance addressed to the office of Mayor Augustus E. Stevens, in Portland. Many of the letters include the writers’ expressions of sympathy for the city’s losses.