Origin of the Paris Fire of 1916
Paris, Lamar County, Texas
Marker Inscription
On March 21, 1916, a fire swept through Paris that consumed 264 acres and 1,440 buildings and killed three people. Property loss was estimated at $11 million. Paris was founded in the mid-1840s, and many of the town’s historic structures were lost in the fire including the Federal Building and Post Office, the Lamar County Courthouse and Jail, City Hall, numerous commercial buildings and several churches. Substantial rainfall in Paris last occurred 51 days prior, and winds gusting up to 60 mph that day likely contributed to the city’s dryness. Although no one is certain how the fire started, it is known that there was a small trash fire burning near Sid Long’s timber warehouse on SW 4th street and Frisco avenue, and an alarm was sounded at 5:30 p.m. The high winds quickly set fire to roof shingles in the surrounding blocks. Mayor Ed H. Mccuistion sent out appeals to nearby fire departments after he decided that widespread conflagration was imminent. Bonham, Cooper, Dallas, Honey Grove and Hugo, Oklahoma, answered the call, and the fire was under control by 3:30 a.m. Chamber President Henry P. Mayer prepared a sign for a meeting the following day that simply read “Smile.” The slogan was adopted quickly and encouraged residents to rebuild the city with optimism. The Civic League, which had organized just two days before, shifted its focus from beautification to sanitation because the fire left many residents living in tents and shacks. Paris was reconstructed quickly with the help of out of town architects, local builders and citizens. Paris’ reconstruction produced one of the best examples of architectural integrity and geographically-concentrated post-Victorian buildings in the United States.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
On March 21, 1916, after seven weeks without rain and with winds gusting to 60 mph, a small trash fire near a timber warehouse exploded into a conflagration that consumed 264 acres, 1,440 buildings, and three lives, destroying the courthouse, post office, city hall, and much of downtown Paris. Fire crews from as far as Oklahoma fought it under control by dawn. The next day the Chamber president posted a one-word sign — "Smile" — and the city rebuilt with remarkable speed and architectural care.
Why it matters
Paris's rapid, deliberate rebuilding left one of the nation's finest concentrations of post-Victorian architecture, a case study in how American towns turned disaster into civic renewal.
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Related people
- · Henry P. Mayer
- · Ed H. McCuistion
Related events
- · Paris Fire of 1916
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
Paris Cotton Compress
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Scott Mansion
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Built between 1908 and 1910 for the family of prominent businessman Rufus Fenner Scott Sr., this Paris landmark was designed by German-born architect J. L. Wees, who shaped many of the town's civic and commercial buildings. The mansion blends Art Nouveau and Dutch Renaissance styling and famously survived the devastating Paris fire of 1916.
Paris Fire Department
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Fire protection in Paris began in the early 1870s when businessmen led by Willet Babcock organized the volunteer Phoenix Fire Company No. 1. The city established a paid department in 1908, operating from this site since 1884. The department met its greatest test in the catastrophic fire of March 1916, which killed three people and destroyed some 1,400 buildings.
The Paris Fire, 1916
Paris, TX
On the windy afternoon of March 21, 1916, a fire broke out near a warehouse at the southwest edge of Paris, Texas, and 50-mph winds drove it in a funnel-shaped path across town. Before it was checked at dawn the next day, the blaze had destroyed nearly half of Paris — the courthouse, city hall, federal building, churches, and most of the business district — with damage estimated at $11 million. Firefighters came from as far as Oklahoma, and the glow was visible forty miles away.