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It was noon on Monday, June 4, 1934, and the men working
at the base of the National Geodetic Survey Tower on Chase’s Hill
stopped for their mid-day meal. They started a small
fire to warm their dinner. After the “nooning”,
apparently the embers were not properly extinguished and the fire
smoldered undetected after they left.
Late in the afternoon it broke out and burned for several
hours until dark. All that night and Tuesday it was patrolled with no
evidence of smoke or flame, the patrol was withdrawn.
During that time, the death of Stearns Scott occurred. His service was held Wednesday afternoon was attended by
most of the people around the Cove. When the mourners came out of the
church about three o'clock, they had little time to gather and talk to
friends for smoke was again billowing up from the fire. That afternoon
and night the fire burned toward the Morrell place, now owned by Harold
Peters, but with a southwest wind, its main headway was northeasterly.
The fire burned on, devouring woods and brush, and at
bedtime showed a bright glare from the Chase shore to the east of the
old Hagan farm. On Thursday in mid-morning it flared again and continued
northward until it reached the Little Sheepscot and passed within 100
ft. of Naomi Laskey’s house and surrounding cottages. Smoke was in the
air, fear in the hearts of householders who wondered if a shift in the
wind would bring the ever-encroaching flames close enough to devour
their homes. Volunteer firefighters arrived, the CCC, VCC, the National
Guard, numbering 330, plus the firefighters from Bath, Brunswick and
Wiscasset, comprising more than 500 men not counting the volunteers from
Georgetown itself.
In late afternoon the wind suddenly shifted to the
northeast. Walter Powers, who had been out all the previous night, had
slept until 6:00 P.M. He called out, as he left for
another night's vigil that the fires had reached the north of the
village and people were moving out of their homes and needed trucks to
move furniture to safety. Thirteen or fourteen houses were burned. These
were for the most part on a point where one would not have thought they
would burn. No one was there when they caught. Hundreds were gathered in
Five Islands at the edge of the main fire. Fire companies worked to save
houses and townspeople fought madly for their homes as bucket brigades
were formed. Clarence Mac's, Vernie Gray's, Charles
Pinkham's and others were saved by a narrow margin. Two of Tom Scott’ a
houses were burned and cottages on the point could have been saved had
fire fighters been placed there to watch for embers.
Thursday night the biggest flare lasted for hours, deep red and
soaring to heaven. The woods along the Little Sheepscot and the Narrows
were engulfed in flames, but the wind was not right to take it to
MacMahan Island.
The other brilliant glare to the south was Five Islands
village. All day a steady fire had burned shoreward along the Chase
place on the east bank of Robinhood Cove, and threatened the Morrell
house. The previous night, Wednesday, a fire engine and crew had saved
the Jim MacMahan place. The entire line smoldered constantly and at
intervals broke into violent flame. Five Islanders
stood on the wharf near what was then Savage’s Store and saw the wall of
fire advance to within 500 yards of them.
Miraculously the wind changed, and the village was saved.
Friday morning was quiet, no wind, and no clouds of
smoke. A few smoldering smudges sent up occasional puffs of smoke.
Hundreds of men patrolled the entire front of nearly two miles with a
mile in depth. In late morning the wind began to breeze up and the fire,
which had had a long nap, turned in its bed. It drew
in deep breaths of southwest wind. It yawned, stretched and sat up.
It rose in all its power and might, belched forth its hot
breath upon the puny men at its feet, thrust them aside and launched
itself once more on the path of destruction. By 2:00 P.M. the entire
Chase front from the Morrell place down was almost solid with smoke,
while the hill at the MacMahan place was shrouded in a dense black pall
that billowed skyward. Lowe’s Point seemed doomed, but the wind was too
far to the southeast and the fire passed on, taking out its malice on
Soldier's Point.
On Friday morning, a crew had been placed on MacMahan
Island but with no signs of fire, they were withdrawn. On Friday
afternoon a sightseeing party happened to go down by MacMahan Island and
saw that sparks had kindled a fire. They went ashore
and extinguished the blaze.
Soon Sheriff Henderson arrived with George Laskey, George
Powers others. The Island caught five times, but
each time the flames were put out before they spread.
Westport Island, across the narrow Goose Rock Passage,
would have caught too, but there was a force of men down at the lower
end to nip it in the bud.
During Friday night the fire was subdued. On Saturday it
was reduced to one little roll of smoke east of the Josephine Lewis
barns.
For some time the entire area was patrolled by State
militia, the CCC and townspeople. A number of houses had been destroyed.
Some were saved by a caprice of the wind and some by the heroic and
concerted effort of firefighters.
Among the homes and camps destroyed were those of the
following: William W. Marr; Heirs: Manfred S. Newdick; Ellsworth Pinkham,
Schoolhouse Road cottages; “Oakwood” Thomas Buckley; Capt. William H.
Davis; “Mervick” Mrs. John B.Horton; Thomas W. Scott; Charles Moore;
Mrs. Paul Mason; Mrs. Avis Luce; Charles H. Jordan; “Camp Bide-A-Wee”;
Edward M Lewis; Jacob P. Lewis; and Walter Thurlow.
The
material for the above account was taken from a letter written by Agnes
Powers to her sister, shortly after the fires.
Beatrice B.
Barrett
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