The Great Portsmouth Christmas Fires

By Ronald T. Campbell

The coastal city of Portsmouth, New Hampshire suffered three devastating urban fires in the early 1800s. Collectively, they are known as the Great Portsmouth Christmas Fires because each one flared during the Yuletide season. The Great Parade Fire demolished the center of town on Christmas Night, December 26, 1802. The Great Bow Street Fire torched riverside warehouses and an historic chapel on Christmas Eve, December 24, 1806. The third and most catastrophic, known simply as The Great Portsmouth Fire, destroyed fifteen acres of the town's commercial center on the night of December 22-23, 1813.

'The Great Portsmouth Christmas Fires' identifies the sources of the three fires, describes the devastation they caused, and explains how civic measures to prevent future tragedies shaped modern Portsmouth. A map of the fires' destruction and a walking tour through the heart of the rebuilt areas are included.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Ronald T. Campbell
• Release date: May 22, 2014
• ISBN: 9781310069475

Ronald T. Campbell

Ron Campbell is a professional writer, photographer, and amateur historian who is currently writing freelance articles for the Web and working on a Walk Portsmouth blog.His photographs, which are posted on Flickr at www.flickr.com/photos/rondeeview/, have appeared online in NowPublic news articles, the Schmap guides, and "Home & Abroad" magazine. Additionally, his photograph of the Sopwith Camel at London’s Imperial War Museum was included in the March 2009 edition of "Britain at War" magazine.

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The Great Portsmouth Christmas Fires

Published by Ronald T. Campbell at Smashwords

Copyright 2014 Ronald T. Campbell

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Table of Contents

Introduction

Map of the Three Christmas Fires

The Great Parade Fire of 1802

Walking Tour of the 1802 Fire

The Great Bow Street Fire of 1806

Walking Tour of the 1806 Fire

The Great Portsmouth Fire of 1813

Walking Tour of the 1813 Fire

Aftermath

For More Information

Sources

About the Author

Introduction

The first fire ever recorded in the city of Portsmouth, New Hampshire occurred in 1696 when native tribesmen raided a European settlement on the Portsmouth Plains. During the confrontation, five houses and nine barns were torched, fourteen people died, and four others were taken captive

The first major urban blaze occurred in 1781, when boys playing with fire accidentally burned down Nathaniel Treadwell’s barn on Chestnut Street, where The Music Hall is located today. The sparks and flames from his barn quickly caught Treadwell’s house afire, then leapt the narrow lane and ignited the town jail. Nearby, a stable and barn owned by the honorable Judge Woodbury Langdon were destroyed, and the fire then spread to Langdon’s stately mansion, the Langdon House.

During the early 1800s, three major conflagrations gutted the center of Portsmouth. They are often called the great Portsmouth Christmas fires because all three occurred within a few days of December the Twenty-Fifth, in 1802, 1806, and 1813. These catastrophic structure fires