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Fire of 1867
A serious fire occurred in the spring of 1867 when a large fire broke out on West Market street, which started in the tin shop of Theron Burnett which adjoined the White Horse hotel. Burnett's building stood on the site now occupied by Reichard and Trethaway's grocery store. This fire began at 7 o'clock in the morning and was started by a charcoal fire in which one of the men had just lighted in the stove. The fire quickly spread to the White Horse hotel and soon had enveloped all the buildings on that side of the street as far up as Franklin street. While the fireman were battling with this blaze an easterly wind sprung up which drove the fire across the street and soon the firemen were hemmed in on both sides by a wall of flames. Nothing daunted, however, they continued the battle right manfully and while the members of company Nos 1 and 2 who were also present directed their attention to the fire generally the members of Neptune turned their action to checking the advance of the flames and succeeded in stopping them. At the building owned and occupied by Frazer and Smith, a three-story brick which still stands at the corner of the alley leading to the rear of the Grand Opera House and adjoining the building now occupied by Voorhis & Murray, The Faser, was saved after the most stubborn kind of fight and only after the roof had been burned away. The firemen kept two streams playing on this building constantly and may times the men were in grave danger. From here the flames spread toward Franklin street, as far as the Wyoming Bank, which then occupied the same site as it does at the present tome. The building at that time, however, was only two stories high.
The easterly winds then drove the flames down Franklin street destroying all frame structures as far down as the present law offices of C. D. Foster and John McGahren now are. Among the buildings destroyed were the house of Judge Collins on Franklin street, and the building occupied by the Record of the Times, afterwards merged into the Wilkes-Barre Record. The paper at that time was edited by William P. Miner, deceased. In all there were about twenty buildings destroyed. During the progress of the flames a spark from the burning buildings fell on the roof of the Wyoming Valley Hotel which caught fire and for a while the firemen were kept hustling to get the best of this fire. Besides the Neptune and Companies 1 and 2 the firemen were assisted by an engine and company from Kingston. At this fire the companies were enabled to do more efficient work than at previous fires, as the town council had in the early sixties placed several fire hydrants along the streets and this did away with the necessity of carrying the water in buckets and proved a great help.
This was the last large fire in which the old hand pumps were used to any extent. as in 1871 the Town Council was presented with a steam fire engine and the old hand machines were relegated to the rear. James R. Rutter (Wilkes-Barre Times Newspaper Article - October 6, 1897)
