Aurora, Illinois - Disasters

Aurora Disasters

and

Other Notable Events


 

FIRES

 

1854        August 4th - Mackenhill's Distillery.

               Volintine's General Store on Main Street

1856        Eight stores on East side of Broadway

1858        Seven or eight stores West side of Broadway, from corner of Main Street                         South of Alschuler's.

1861        May 3rd - stores on river Street from Galena to Hurd's Store.

1867        Wilder House

1869        Huntoon House

1871        Old Silver Plate factory

1873        May 20 - C.B. & Q. shops - over $50,000 in damages.

1888        C.B. & Q paint shop, Oak Street School House, Mercantile block,                                         Fox and Broadway.

1903        June 18, Sencenbaugh Store - Broadway

1906        February 11th - Stolp's woolen mills building.

               March 18th - Jennings seminary

               August 10th - Knickerbocker Ice Company - North Broadway

               November 7th - Oak Street School

 

Could we list "Wayne's World" here?


FLOOD

1857 - February 7th:  The ground had been covered by a foot of snow for over sixty days and frozen hard, when on the 5th of February it began to rain.  The downpour continued until Saturday, the 7th.  Folks living on the flats, awoke that Saturday morning to find their homes surrounded by water.  Most were able to escape.  The railroad bridge blocked with ice caused water to back up over Stolp Island.  A couple of miles upriver, an ice blocked area gave way causing water to rush toward Aurora.  

Twenty little houses and three bridges were swept away in a matter of minutes.  A woman and her baby were trapped in one of the homes.  They were swept over the Montgomery dam and safely rescued.  A child floated down river to Aurora on a large chunk of ice and was rescued.

 

In addition to the lost homes, Stolps barn, Fyfe's Eagle mills Reedy & Merrill's Sash Factory, a dye house, Woodworth Brothers, Hyde's Saw Mill and other buildings were damaged.  The total damages were reported to be between $38,000 and $100,000.


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