Great Fire of 1907 - South Carolina Historical Markers on Waymarking.com

This site was the starting point of the Great Fire of 1907, one of the worst disasters in the history of Beaufort. On Jan. 19 a fire started around 1:30 p.m. in F.W. Scheper's barn south of here and moved into a large store at this corner. The fire moved wet along Bay Street, while strong winds scattered embers over much of downtown. Flames spread up Carterest Street and to the northeast, burning buildings as far as 1.2 mi. away from this location.

Companies of black and white volunteer firemen struggled to extinguish the flames, which overpowered their equipment. By the time subsided, at least forty buildings had been damaged or destroyed. The event prompted new local ordinances governing the materials and location of new buildings. Despite the destruction, the only death occurred when William Bennett, a member of the well-known African American Allen Brass Band was shot by a soldier on patrol.

Marker Name: Great Fire of 1907 Marker Location: City Type of Marker: Other Marker number: 7-68 County: Beaufort

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Date Logged Log User Rating   04/15/2023 electrical_chris visited it