Fires at the Capitol Building

1881

Between the hours of 12:00 noon and 1:00 PM on Wednesday, November 9th, 1881, the fire bell struck eight quick taps indicating a fire in the eighth ward. The location was the old Travis County Courthouse at the southeast corner of Congress Avenue and 11th Street. It required only a few moments to learn the true cause of the alarm, as dense volumes of smoke issuing from the grand building on the hill told the fearful fact that the CAPITOL WAS ON FIRE.

Chief Engineer John Bremond, Jr. was immediately notified of the ensuing calamity and put out the call for the volunteers. (Chief Bremond´s helmet shield from that very day is on display at the museum.)

In the hall of representatives, the Texas legislature was in session unknowingly deliberating so close to the emerging fire. As Representative L. N. Norton approached his office, he discovered that the fire was coming up through the floor from below. He immediately returned to the representative hall and yelled to his colleagues, "Good God! Gentlemen, THE CAPITOL IS ON FIRE!" All of the statesmen quickly began trying to save the overwhelming volumes of historical paraphernalia that adorned the walls of the Capitol. Portraits of Washington, Houston, and Austin were consumed, while state records, plans for the new Capitol upon which they were deliberating, and an oil painting of Gen. Ed Burleson were some of the priceless items saved. With the fire and smoke gaining considerable headway, many of the occupants were forced to feel their way out of the doomed Capitol.

About this time, the fire department reached the front entrance of the burning Capitol. The flames had reached up and into the state library and museum, and a dense column of smoke was issuing from the north side of the building. Colorado Engine Company Number 2 is credited with being first on grounds, while Washington Number 1 put water on the fire first.

Unfortunately, the sixteenth and seventeenth legislatures refused to appropriate enough money to supply the Capitol building and grounds with hydrants and water. The fire companies had to lay up hill over seven hundred feet of hose from the nearest hydrant on Congress Avenue, and only then with enough pressure for a mere spray of water. The following day the Austin Statesman reported about the frugal legislature: "Today we gaze upon the blackened walls of a burnt state house as monument to their penny-wise and pound-foolish policy."

It was reported that some "thoughtful persons" tore away the iron railings around the monument, made from the ruins of the Alamo, and carried off the upper portion. Neither the curators of the Capitol, nor the Alamo were aware of this occurring. The final verdict was that an improperly placed stove flue caused the 1881 Capitol fire.