The Burland Desbarats Lith. Co. Montreal
THE NORTHERN AND EASTERN PANORAMIC VIEW OF ST. JOHN, 1828 OR '30.
The fire of 1837 will linger long in the memory of many of the inhabitants of St. John. It was the most wholesale destruction of property which the people had ever known. Many to-day contrast the misfortunes of that day with those of the present hour. Even when the flames were carrying death and destruction on all sides on that warm day in June, 1877, men stopped to compare notes and whisper a word or two about the fire of 1837. Of course the loss was not as great then, or the number of lives lost so large, or so much valuable property destroyed as at the present time, but the people were less able to bear the trials which came upon them then, and many never recovered from the shock. The city was young and struggling to gain a foothold. The city was poor and the people were frugal. They were not able to bear the burdens which were in a night entailed upon them, the magnificent system of relief from outside sources was not in operation, and without help of any kind save that which they themselves brought into requisition, the citizens nobly worked long and hard to rebuild their little seaport town. There was a prejudice against insurance, and many lost every dollar they posses
sed. The hardships of those days are remembered by many who passed through them then, and who once more endure the horrors of a great calamity with almost Spartan courage. The time of the '37 fire was in the very heart of a rigorous winter, on the 13th of January, and we can only picture the destruction of Moscow to enable the reader to understand how terrible the sufferings of the people must have been, when snow and ice were on the ground, and not a shelter covered the heads of the afflicted women and tender babes. It was a day remembered long after by those who had passed through its trials. The fire originated on Peters's Wharf, and in a moment, like lightning, it darted along South Market Wharf and extended up to the ferry boat. Both sides of Water Street and Prince William Street between Cooper's Alley and Princess Street were destroyed. The old Nichols House was saved; it was occupied then by Solomon Nichols and stood on the corner of Cooper's Alley and Prince William Street, lately the site of Farrall & Smith's dry goods store. It was originally built of wood and it was a marvel that it was not carried away with the rest; but it stood like an oasis in Sahara, or the old sentinel who was left on guard and forgotten after the army had fled. One hundred and fifteen houses were consumed, and nearly the whole of the business portion of the city, and one million dollars' worth of property were destroyed.
The Burland Desbarats Lith. Co. Montreal
MARITIME BLOCK (1873) SHOWING VIEW OF PRINCE WILLIAM ST.