Oxford Skirts Fire Disaster

*** The conditions in Nova Scotia forests today are much the same as they were a hundred years ago, when homes and farms were burnt to a crisp, and the town itself was threatened with calamity. ***

While some Nova Scotians are chafing at the government ban on access to forests during a period of extreme drought and forest fire risk, one has to wonder if those who yell loudest about their ‘freedom’ have ever experienced the nightmare of losing their property, and/or loved ones, to the scourge of fire.

Oxford’s History with Fire

Oxford is no stranger to that threat. In its history, the downtown core has been struck by fire on several occasions. The Oxford Manufacturing Company suffered great losses in a large blaze in 1889; fire destroyed much of the downtown business district in 1909, including the Oxford Clothing Company (Peter and W. Slade, owners), the John E. Hills Shoe Shop, a jewellery store, a restaurant, buildings owned by Alex Ross, A.S. McIntosh and barns and a warehouse owned by H.S. Smith also burned; in 1920, fire levelled the Wood-Patton block on Main Street between Rideau St. & James St. (which resulted in a famous murder trial, subject of a future story); and again in 1924 on Main St., affecting a building south-west of the Capitol Theatre, owned by A.J. Amos (residence of Millage Rushton & family, and Novel Dobson & family). Earlier that same day, on Station Street, the residence of truckman Daniel Keith was all but destroyed by a fire that began on the roof.

The Oxford Volunteer Fire Department (OVFD) in November, 1920 acquired a motorized vehicle on which to mount its “Silsby Pump,” which in years prior was driven by a steam engine and drawn on a wagon by horses. The new equipment provided local firefighters with a major upgrade in their capabilities, one which would be put to the test soon enough.

Nova Scotia in 1921

The August 8, 1921 edition of The Saint John Evening Mail published an extensive review of the fires across Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, which described millions of dollars in damage to structures and timberland. Some thirty towns and villages across the two provinces were affected by wildfires fanned by gale-force winds. More than sixty buildings were razed at Saint John, NB. Several farms were lost along the Salmon River near Harcourt.

In Nova Scotia, Brookfield saw two-million feet of lumber (owned by the King Brothers of Oxford) consumed by flames and the train station narrowly survived thanks to the combined effort of townspeople who were supported by 100 firefighters rushed in from Truro. 200 men battled the blaze at Springhill Junction and Salt Springs.

Along the Canadian National Railway line from Oxford to Wallace, spot fires broke out everywhere. Fires appeared as far east as Sydney, Cape Breton, where officials were extremely concerned about the possibility of an disaster that could rival the Halifax Explosion of just four years prior:

Other communities affected in Cape Breton were as disparate as Point Edward, New Waterford and Big Harbour near Baddeck.

Cumberland Burns

In Cumberland County, the wildfires appeared to be everywhere. The Saint John Evening Mail of August 8th, 1921, describes the scene:

Spreading out on the Leicester, the flame again assumed large proportions, and at an early hour this afternoon it was impossible for either people or vehicles to pass the road. The residents fought heroically to save their buildings, and with nothing but water from their wells, succeeded in saving everything, but one outbuilding.

The town of Maccan escaped being wiped out only through a fortuitous change in the 55mph+ wind direction. Scores of firefighters were deployed to beat the fire back from approaching the Chignecto Mines.

Here is the excerpt covering the fires at Oxford:

Henry Rushton was my great-grandfather. A note published in The Oxford Journal just a few weeks after the fire said that Henry was rebuilding his house. As a child, I lived in that rebuilt house for several years, and always wondered why there was a set of concrete steps in the basement that led nowhere… now I understand, the new house was built to a different floor plan.

The 1921 fires were such a threat, the effort to combat the flames shut down Oxford industry:

All of this, of course, when even telephones in private residences were not common, and the only warning that fire was encroaching came in the form of your own senses or watchful neighbours:

The fire was indiscriminate: some homes and farms were spared, others left in cinders. It was nearly impossible to anticipate where a fire would appear, nor the direction the winds might take it. Certainly the 1921 fires were the most extensive ever seen in Nova Scotia history. We have not seen a final accounting of the financial losses, which were undoubtedly immeasurable. The costs to families and communities, as some saw their livelihoods and homes vanish within hours, was felt for generations.

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Does your family have memories passed down from the fires that affected Oxford in its past? Send them to us at <info@hellooxford.ca>!