Looking Back at the Claysville fire of 1922
”Beautiful for situation was Our Village Home … Its horizon was narrowed by the high hills which inclosed the indented valley, along which the houses lined its single street. Those hills were magnificent parks of the noblest trees of the forest … How beautiful those hills when spring dotted them with the white of the dogwood; when summer enrobed them in its luxuriant green; when autumn touched them with its tints of scarlet and gold; when winter gave them the whiteness of its snow and the sparkle of its ice!”
Those are the words used by George Birch in the book, “Our Church and Our Village,” to describe the sleepy little village of Claysville.
The land where Claysville sits was originally granted to Thomas Walter as “Superfine Bottom” Feb. 25, 1785. Walter would later sell the land to John Purviance shortly after the turn of the century, and Purviance would open a tavern along the trail that ran through his property.
After the route of the National Road was surveyed and agreed upon, Purviance, betting that travel along the National Road would entice people to buy lots and set up businesses, decided to lay out plots and form a town. He named the town after the advocate for construction of the road, U.S. Rep. Henry Clay.
Claysville rapidly grew into a bustling village that benefited greatly from those who traveled the National Road. It became a prominent stop for the Good Intent Stage Coach Co. and at one point had six taverns operating at the same time. Even when travel along the National Road was diminished after the introduction of rail lines, which passed through the town, Claysville continued to flourish because of the train depot. As the 19th century became the 20th, and cars became the major mode of transportation, Claysville still grew as Route 40 was also Main Street in the town.
By 1920, Main Street was lined with businesses – the National Bank of Claysville, Farmer’s National Bank, Marple Grocery Store, McCartney’s Drug Store, Mealy’s Restaurant and Pool Hall, T.W. Armstrong’s Hardware, Central Hotel and Campsey Feed Store, are just a few. Main Street in Claysville was one of the finest and most thriving business districts in Washington County. However, on Jan. 31, 1922, disaster would strike the town on a cold winter’s day.
About 6 p.m., a fire was discovered in the meat market of the Marple Grocery Store. William Mitchell, owner of the market, found the back room of the building on fire. The local fire department could not handle the blaze, so a call went out to the Washington Fire Department. Before help could arrive, the fire had spread to adjoining buildings. Even when the fire trucks from Washington arrived, a lack of water exacerbated the problem.
Claysville had two water towers on the hill, but the larger one had been emptied for repairs. Once the tanks on the fire trucks were expended and the other tower emptied, there was not much to be done other than watch. The fire spread both east and west, razing the buildings along its path. As the flames moved east, consuming the wood frame structures, they eventually met the solid brick wall of Farmer’s National Bank. While the heat from the fire caused a fair amount of damage to the building, the fire eventually burned out. To the west, the flames continued to rage on. There were no solid brick walls to act as barriers. Seeing the fire growing quickly, and the inability of the fire departments to stop its spread, officials from the National Bank of Claysville began emptying the building of money and securities. The bank did catch fire and burn, but only the building and furniture were lost. Eventually, the inferno reached Green Street. It was here that, seven hours after its discovery, the fire would reach its end.
Once the fires burned out and the smoke had cleared, the full extent of the damage was realized. The National Bank of Claysville, Marple Grocery Store, McCartney’s Drug Store, Mealy’s Restaurant, Armstrong’s Hardware, Campsey Feed Store and warehouse, and several residences were lost to the fire. In total, the damages were placed at more than $250,000. The largest single loss was Campsey’s warehouse, where 210,000 pounds of wool was stored. Before the flames hit, 60,000 pounds were able to be removed, but the loss was still valued at nearly $60,000.
NotPittsburgh Press reported “the council of Claysville at a meeting last night passed an ordinance establishing a fire zone within which all buildings will have to be constructed of brick, concrete or other noncombustible material.”
Word of the fire spread quickly and was reported throughout the country. Newspapers in Minneapolis, St. Louis, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago and many other major cities all carried the story. Many small towns viewed the event as a cautionary tale and went on to form building codes to prevent such an incident from happening to them.
After the fire, Claysville rebuilt and businesses reopened. The citizens, throughout all the damage and loss, remained thankful, as not a single life was lost.