Historic Fires of Fredericton

    Miramichi Fire of 1825
    October 1825

The fire which struck the Miramichi area in early October, 1825 was one of the largest, if not the largest, recorded in New Brunswick history. It traveled along the Miramichi River and down the Nashwaak Valley into Fredericton. Hardest hit, however, were the inhabitants of the Miramichi settlements. There were no settlers in that region left untouched by its cruel forces. If they themselves escaped, they were left with the unpleasant chore of burying the dead, and finding a way to survive winter which was almost upon them.

The damage caused by the fire was intense. One account states that the fire covered over 4000 square miles. It is known that this fire also reached Fredericton. The King Street area from Carelton to Westmorland raged with fire, about 70 bldgs in all, burned.

In the House of Assembly which opened in January of the following year, Lieutenant-Governor Howard Douglas speaks about the extent of the damage:

"Here, in the seat of Government, the loss, though great, has, mercifully been confined to property, but in other quarters, the conflagration raged with more fatal fury."

From Redcoat Sailor by R. S. Lambert
Excerpt from Pages 127 to 146:

"In 1824, when he was 48, Sir Howard Douglas found himself facing a new kind of adventure. He was offered the appointment, by his Majesty's government, of Lieutenant Governor of New Brunswick, with command, as Major-General, of all troops in New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Cape Breton, Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland and Bermuda.

As he went about the province, Sir Howard soon made himself popular by visiting the settlers in their homes and discussing their grievances with them during the first year of his governorship he gave a stimulus to progress. But then suddenly and without warning, the whole advance was interrupted by one of the most appalling natural calamities in the history of Canada - the great Miramichi fire of 1825.

From late July to early October, 1825, no rain fell over most of New Brunswick. The province sweltered under a hot sun that parched farm and forest alike in an unparalleled drought. Just a month before, a fire had broken out in Government House, Fredericton, and burned the whole place to the ground.

The Fire Rages On Day after day the thermometer stood at 86 degrees in the shade, and the atmosphere became thick, overcast, and oppressively sultry ... numerous fires were already blazing along the banks of the St. John River in the south, and along the Miramichi River to the northwest. But it as not till October 7 that the wind began to blow from the southwest, and to spread the local fires into a great conflagration. At eleven o'clock on that day a messenger rode up to Douglas' headquarters to say that a fire had broken out near the house of Mr. Baillie, the Commissioner of Crown Lands, about a mile and a half outside Fredericton. At once Douglas ordered out the fire-engines and troops, and galloped off to the rescue, followed by most of the male population of the city. By having the engines play water on the house, and by clearing the undergrowth around it, Douglas succeeded in saving the property after about an hour's effort.

Suddenly a second messenger spurred up to him, coming from the direction of Fredericton itself ... "The town's on fire. For God's sake, sir, come at once!" ... The governor ordered his troops to return to the city at the double, and himself led the way. By now the wind was blowing with hurricane force, and he realized that there was no time to be lost, if the little city, built all of wood and surrounded by thick forests, was to be saved. On approaching the city, he saw that the mischief had already gone too far. Smoke was rising from two or three houses. Even while he looked, about a dozen more took fire - and before he could reach the spot, a whole street was ablaze ... the wind veered in a direction which, while sparing part of the town, threatened to burn down the barracks and with it all the stores, fuel and ammunition of the garrison ... The wind veered still further, and at last began to blow in the opposite direction from its start. Over one-third of all the dwellings in Fredericton had been destroyed by the flames; but the rest were spared ... the air everywhere was so thick and hot, it was difficult to breathe. As he looked around the outskirts of the devastated city, the governor could see that the conflagration, far from dying down, was growing much worse.

From the forests south of Fredericton a continuous roar like thunder could be heard. This was shortly followed by the rise of a thick column of smoke, and the outburst of a series of extraordinary explosions, like those caused by an artillery barrage. Giant tongues of flame shot up to heaven, as if a volcanic eruption was in progress. Spouts of fire rained down on tree-tops, ran up and down the trunks, and kindled he branches. All along the banks of the St. John River, rows of huge trees, centuries old, caught fire, and made the water beside them crimson with their reflection ... Panic seized the unhappy people of Fredericton, as the hurricane force winds began wrenching up burning trees and boughs and hurling them through the air.

The livestock of the farmers, and the horses of the military, were driven mad with fear, and galloped crazily through the streets or along the banks of the river. Many people, being fairly convinced that the end of the world had come, threw themselves on their knees, and began to pray for deliverance on the Day of Judgment, ... Throughout that dreadful night Douglas kept his head, and methodically distributed his troops to key points throughout the city, ready to operate at the first alarm ... Douglas therefore called together by proclamation a meeting of all citizens of Fredericton, and appealed to the richer and more fortunate among them to contribute generously to a central fund. He himself opened the fund by subscribing £200 out of his own pocket. Next he sent for the most prominent wholesale merchant in Fredericton, and ordered him to set out at once for Quebec, to buy there all the food and clothing he could get. Payment for this was to be made in credit notes drawn on the New Brunswick treasury by the governor himself, at his own risk. At the end of the week, when the embers had died down, Douglas announced his next step. "Fetch me a good country wagon and a couple of fresh cart-horses. I intend to drive through the forest and visit the outlying settlements" ...

Douglas found much worse devastation as the fire completely ravaged the Miramichi area. In all, over 4 million acres of forest were destroyed and 160 people were killed. Very few buildings or livestock survived, leaving 15,000 people homeless. Smoke burned the eyes and lungs of people as far away as Montreal.