D. A. Schaeffer

Robert Thomson and Aaron Schaeffer were sleeping on the second floor of Jacob Thompson’s livery stable on John Street in downtown Westminster on 9 April 1883, when a fire broke out that trapped them and ended their lives. This was no ordinary

fire; it was the largest in Westminster’s history. The losses included: 2 lives, 29 horses,

2 cows, 16 houses, 1 church, 17 families left homeless, 13 businesses destroyed, 2 large

manufacturers‟ establishments burned, 8 stables, plus assorted small buildings. The

value of all property exceeded $135,000.

At the time the fire started, Westminster had no central water supply, so the firemen

could only rely on water from public and private wells. Their fire-fighting equipment

was limited to a Holloway chemical engine, a wooden hook and ladder wagon, and a

quantity of extra buckets.

The fire spread rapidly given the amount of straw that undoubtedly was piled in the

livery stable. “Well after well and cistern after cistern in rapid succession ceased to

yield the only element with which to quench the destroying flames…” reported the

American Sentinel. During the night, a special train from Baltimore arrived with chemical

engines, a steamer, and hose carriage plus many more firemen. Fortunately, the wind

shifted and the fire was confined to the area between John and Carroll streets on the

north side of West Main Street, but the photograph on the preceding page illustrates

what little remained standing once the flames were finally extinguished.

Five days later, the editor of the American Sentinel reminded citizens that “the oftrepeated

prediction concerning Westminster’s danger, has been fearfully realized.” He

noted that chemical engines couldn’t do what an endless supply of water could do and

urged officials to forbid “the erection of frame dwellings, or of out-houses and stables

within a given distance of one another.” City officials did heed the warning and

eventually installed water lines and fire hydrants. No fire of comparable size ever

occurred again, and the devastated area was rebuilt with many brick structures as

recommended.