Sour Lake Fire
Sour Lake, TX
January 24, 1904
Fire swept the town of Sour Lake, Texas, on January 24, 1904, and practically the entire business section of the town was destroyed. Four blocks were burned, and the buildings destroyed included two banks, two hotels, the Post Office, the electric-light plant, the telegraph and telephone offices, and the railway station. After the fire, the town was in darkness, and men patrolled the streets, armed with shotguns, to prevent thieves from plundering the ruins. The loss was about $300,000. Most of the burned buildings were made of wood. There was no Fire Department in Sour Lake. The town had grown in a year, from a place with a few hundred inhabitants to one with a population of 10,000, as a result of the oil discoveries. |
