The 1835 Great Fire of New York was one of three fires that rendered extensive damage to New York City in the 18th and 19th centuries. The fire occurred in the middle of an economic boom, covering 17 city blocks, killing two people, and destroying hundreds of buildings, with an estimated $20 million of property damage (equivalent to $ million in ).
Background
By 1835, New York City was the premier American city, and its financial prowess surpassed that of Philadelphia or Boston. The opening of the Erie Canal ten years earlier connected New York to raw materials and commercial interests in the Midwest and allowed the city to rise to prominence as a market hub. Over half of the country's exports left through New York Harbor, while more than a third of American imports arrived there. Insurance companies, investment firms, real estate companies and others made New York their home.
As the city expanded northward and its economic significance increased, fire was a major concern. Insurance companies worried that a large fire could sap their resources. The mayor and common council members held stock in or were board members of many fire insurance firms. City officials made efforts to build more watch towers and hire more watchmen. One serious impediment to firefighting was the lack of a reliable water source, as little had been done by 1835 to solve the city's water problem. The city's residents, as well as its firefighters, relied on neighborhood wells, forty fire cisterns, and a reservoir located at 13th Street and the Bowery.
The fire department's growth in the 1820s and 1830s had not kept pace with the growth of the city. The city's population had swelled by an additional 145,000 in the previous decade, but the department had added only about 300 firemen. A roster of 1,500 firemen, 55 engines, 6 ladder companies, and 5 hose carts were deemed insufficient to protect the city. Throughout the summer and fall of 1835, the department had fought numerous fires. On December 14, the entire fire department had spent the freezing, miserable evening fighting two large fires, which destroyed thirteen buildings and two shops. The city's fire cisterns were nearly empty and its firefighting force exhausted when disaster struck.
Fire
The fire began on the evening of December 16, 1835, in a five-story warehouse at 25 Merchant Street, now known as Beaver Street, at the intersection of Hanover Street and Wall Street. As it spread, gale-force winds blowing from the northwest towards the East River spread the fire. The conflagration was visible from Philadelphia, approximately away.
At the time of the fire, major water sources including the East River and the Hudson River were frozen in temperatures as low as . Firefighters were forced to drill holes through ice to access water, which later re-froze around the hoses and pipes. Attempts were made to deprive the fire of fuel by demolishing surrounding buildings, but at first there was insufficient gunpowder in Manhattan to use as demolition charges. Later in the evening, a detachment of U.S. Marines and sailors returned at 3 o'clock in the morning, with gunpowder from the Brooklyn Navy Yard and began to blow up buildings in the fire's path. The Evening Post reported that "The detachment of marines from the navy yard under Lieutenant Reynolds and sailors under Captain Mix rendered the most valuable service, the gun powder brought the magazine at Red Hook was partly under their charge."
An investigation found that a burst gas pipe which was ignited by a coal stove was the initial source; no blame was assigned.