A fire of which the fire department was alerted at 6:20pm began in the Dyer Building at the northwest corner of Broad and Eighth Streets and spread, destroying much of Augusta, Georgia, on March 22, 1916.[1] Photographs captured the event.[2][3] The fire was blamed on an unattended clothes iron in a tailor's shop. It was the worst fire in Augusta's history and impacted 35 blocks[4] from 8th Street to East Boundary Street, including portions of downtown and Olde Town, and extending to the Savannah River.[1] Wind created by the fire was so strong the bell at Saint Paul's Church rang by itself,[1] and scorched prayer books and hymnals were blown across the Savannah River into South Carolina.[4] No one was killed, but Augusta incurred $10 million ($296 million in 2025) in damages. Many thousands of cotton bales were destroyed and an estimated 3,000 people made homeless. 541 residential, and 141 commercial, buildings were destroyed.[4][2] A residential area became a lot with only chimneys left. "Cotton Row" was destroyed.[2] The Lamar Building was under construction and had to be demolished after the fire. Churches and schools were destroyed.
 Display about the Augusta fire of 1916 at the Augusta Museum of History | |
| Date | March 22, 1916 |
|---|---|
| Time | 6:20pm (fire department notified) |
| Location | Started in the Dyer Building at the northwest corner of Broad and Eighth Streets |
| Cause | Unattended clothes iron in a tailor's shop |
| Deaths | 0 |
| Property damage | Much of Augusta, Georgia $10 million ($296 million in 2025) |
Responses
editDue to the size of the large fire, fire departments from neighboring cities responded to include Atlanta, Savannah, Columbia, Macon, Greenville, Waynesboro, and Charleston.[1]
Following the fire, the chief of the fire department made allegations printed in The Augusta Chronicle that blamed city officials for being remiss in enacting sufficient building standards, such as allowing substandard wood framing and shingles, as well as for failure to provide adequate water pressure, which pressure dropped rapidly at the fire's beginning and stayed low in the following hours.[4]
Gallery
edit
Close up of the display board of the display with documents about the fire
References
edit- 1 2 3 4 "The Fire of 1916". saintpauls.org. Saint Paul's Church. Retrieved March 23, 2026.
- 1 2 3 "Historic Augusta photos: The Fire of 1916". The Augusta Chronicle. Retrieved January 19, 2018.
- ↑ "Augusta, 1916.; Cotton row after the fire on March 22, 1916. 20,000 bales were destroyed at a value of $1,200,000". vault.georgiaarchives.org. University System of Georgia. Retrieved March 23, 2026.
- 1 2 3 4 "Digitized Augusta Fire Department ledgers help tell the story of the Great Fire of 1916". georgialibraries.org. Georgia Public Library Service. Retrieved March 23, 2026.
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