Fires of State Street

Fire at Peanut Kelley Co. -- Part of State Street Block

Photograph (Right) taken by Leslie Jones, well known photographer of around Boston. 

The newspaper article (below) describes another fire that occurred at the same spot of Peanut Kelley Co. which occurred in 1923. Peanut Kelley Co. was in the 185-187 building of the State Street Block. The owners of this building was, according to the 1922 Atlascope map, N.H. Emmons, et al, Trs. 

April 15, 1923 newspaper article reporting on fire
historic photograph of 1923 fire at Peanut Kelley Co

Leslie Jones, Four Alarm Peanut Kelley Co. Fire on State Street, ca. 1917-1934, digital commonwealth

The Massive Fire of 1872

This fire was not contained only to State Street or surrounding streets, rather, it was the Great Fire of Boston of 1872. It destroyed large amounts of land, which was roughly about 65 acres. The fire started in a basement on Summer Street, which the cause of the fire is undetermined, yet it must have been something quite flammable for it to have spread and caused so much destruction. 

Nov. 11, 1872 newspaper article about great Boston fire

Works Cited

Atlascope Boston, Norman B. Leventhal Map & Education Center at the Boston Public Library, Philadelphia : G.W. Bromley & Co., 1922

Jones, Leslie. "Four alarm Peanut Kelley Co. fire on State Street." Photograph. [ca. 1917–1934]. Digital Commonwealth, https://ark.digitalcommonwealth.org/ark:/50959/05742b12t (accessed December 12, 2022).
Jones, Leslie. "Five alarm fire at Peanut Kelley Co. on State Street." Photograph. [ca. 1930]. Digital Commonwealth, https://ark.digitalcommonwealth.org/ark:/50959/05742b38z (accessed December 12, 2022).


"FOUR-ALARM BLAZE IN STATE-ST BUILDING: FIREMEN IMPERILED BY FALLING SLATE AND HOT-AIR EXPLOSIONS IN KELLEY PEANUT CO.'S PLANT--TWO HURT MANY NARROW ESCAPES HUGE PALL OF SMOKE COVERS DISTRICT DAMAGE ESTIMATED AT $150,000 FLAMES CONQUERED AFTER FIGHT OF 11-2 HOURS." 1923.Boston Daily Globe (1923-1927), Apr 15, 1. https://holycross.idm.oclc.org/login?auth=cas&url=https://www.proquest.com/historical-newspapers/four-alarm-blaze-state-st-building/docview/497271718/se-2.

 

"The Great Fire of Boston" Boston Public Library, Dec. 20, 2021.  https://guides.bpl.org/bostonfires