1900 Hoboken Docks Fire
Encyclopedia
The 1900 Hoboken Docks Fire (on June 30, 1900) killed at least 326 persons in and around the Hoboken, New Jersey
piers of the Norddeutscher Lloyd
(NDL) shipping company. The piers were located in New York Harbor
, at the foot of 3rd and 4th Streets in Hoboken, across the North River (Hudson River) from the Manhattan
in New York City
.
The fire began when cotton bales stored on NDL’s southernmost wharf caught fire, and winds carried the flames to nearby barrels of volatile liquids, such as turpentine
and oil, which exploded in rapid succession. It burned NDL’s Hoboken piers to the waterline, consumed or gutted nearby warehouses, gutted three of NDL’s major transatlantic liners, and damaged or destroyed nearly 24 smaller craft. Most of the victims were seamen and other workers, but included women visiting one of the ships.
s, or otherwise escape.
Saale was gutted, with the highest death toll. After she became engulfed in flames, her mooring lines lines were cut, leaving her to drift as fire reached those further below deck. Finally towed after she drifted toward New York piers, she settled in the Jersey flats near Liberty Island
. Her death toll included her captain (August Johann Mirow), and members (primarily women) of a group known as Christian Endeavor, who were visiting the ship before the fire started.
Main was furthest from the fire’s starting point, but was soon engulfed with fire. She was unable to get loose from her moorings for more than seven hours, until the fire was nearly over. Damaged nearly beyond repair, Main was ultimately towed to Weehawken, New Jersey
, where she was beached. Amazingly, 16 men who had survived the fire hiding in a coal bunker then crawled out of the hulk. Two days after the fire began, the red-hot ship continued to smolder and smoke, which further delayed rescue and recovery efforts.
Bremen also burned intensely. After her crew threw off her mooring lines, she drifted until she was towed to mid-stream by tugs. She eventually ran aground upriver near Weehawken. More than 200 people were on board when the fire began, including visitors. Initial reports indicated that all managed to leave the ship, but many jumped and may not have reached shore.
Many who died in the fires of were interred at the Flower Hill Cemetery, North Bergen
The holder of the Blue Riband
at the time of the fire— NDL’s —was also docked in the company’s Hoboken piers, but fared better than its sister ships. She was the first of the steamers that tugs tried to pulled away from the pier (15 minutes after the fire began). Although she was afire at several places, fireboats soon put out those fires, and in the end she suffered little serious damage.
The fire erupted on a Saturday that was considered a “half-holiday” when no departures were scheduled. Had any of the ships been ready to sail, the loss of life and property would have been much greater.
, and damaged the sheds of the West Shore Railroad
, and the nearby piers of the Scandinavian America Line
and Hamburg America Line
. The total value of property losses due to the fire was estimated (the morning after the fire) at $6.175 million, and (the following year) at $5.25 million.
On the first anniversary of the fire, a large granite monument was dedicated in Flower Hill Cemetery in North Bergen, New Jersey
above a mass grave containing unidentifiable bodies of the victims, listing the names of the dead and missing.
News stories of the fire had described below-deck crew “trying in vain to force their way through the small portholes, while the flames pressed relentlessly upon them.” The fire prompted arguments that portholes on all ships should be at least 11 by 13 in (27.9 by 33 cm) in size, to make it easier for them to serve as a means of escape. Others responded that making portholes larger would be cost-prohibitive, or come at the expense of structural strength. In the end, regulations required portholes to be big enough for a person of reasonable size to escape.
Five years later, a fire consumed the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad's
Hoboken ferry piers.
The piers immediately south of the NDL piers, owned before World War I
by Hamburg America Line, were destroyed in future fires. In 1921, two of the three piers (Hoboken Pier Nos. 5 and 6) were consumed in a fire that also singed the . Then, in August 1944, Pier No. 4 burned, killing three and briefly setting afire the SS Nathaniel Alexander, a Liberty ship
.
Hoboken, New Jersey
Hoboken is a city in Hudson County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's population was 50,005. The city is part of the New York metropolitan area and contains Hoboken Terminal, a major transportation hub for the region...
piers of the Norddeutscher Lloyd
Norddeutscher Lloyd
Norddeutsche Lloyd was a German shipping company. It was founded by Hermann Henrich Meier and Eduard Crüsemann in Bremen on February 20, 1857. It developed into one of the most important German shipping companies of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and was instrumental in the economic...
(NDL) shipping company. The piers were located in New York Harbor
Port of New York and New Jersey
The Port of New York and New Jersey comprises the waterways in the estuary of the New York-Newark metropolitan area with a port district encompassing an approximate area within a radius of the Statue of Liberty National Monument...
, at the foot of 3rd and 4th Streets in Hoboken, across the North River (Hudson River) from the Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
.
The fire began when cotton bales stored on NDL’s southernmost wharf caught fire, and winds carried the flames to nearby barrels of volatile liquids, such as turpentine
Turpentine
Turpentine is a fluid obtained by the distillation of resin obtained from trees, mainly pine trees. It is composed of terpenes, mainly the monoterpenes alpha-pinene and beta-pinene...
and oil, which exploded in rapid succession. It burned NDL’s Hoboken piers to the waterline, consumed or gutted nearby warehouses, gutted three of NDL’s major transatlantic liners, and damaged or destroyed nearly 24 smaller craft. Most of the victims were seamen and other workers, but included women visiting one of the ships.
Ocean liner losses
Many of the deaths occurred as the flames reached several of NDL’s transatlantic steamships docked at the piers, including the , , and . These ocean liners, which caught fire while their coal-fired steam engines were cold, became deathtraps for dozens of seamen and visitors who were unable to reach safety on deck, squeeze through portholePorthole
A porthole is a generally circular, window used on the hull of ships to admit light and air. Porthole is actually an abbreviated term for "port hole window"...
s, or otherwise escape.
Saale was gutted, with the highest death toll. After she became engulfed in flames, her mooring lines lines were cut, leaving her to drift as fire reached those further below deck. Finally towed after she drifted toward New York piers, she settled in the Jersey flats near Liberty Island
Liberty Island
Liberty Island is a small uninhabited island in New York Harbor in the United States, best known as the location of the Statue of Liberty. Though so called since the turn of the century, the name did not become official until 1956. In 1937, by proclamation 2250, President Franklin D...
. Her death toll included her captain (August Johann Mirow), and members (primarily women) of a group known as Christian Endeavor, who were visiting the ship before the fire started.
Main was furthest from the fire’s starting point, but was soon engulfed with fire. She was unable to get loose from her moorings for more than seven hours, until the fire was nearly over. Damaged nearly beyond repair, Main was ultimately towed to Weehawken, New Jersey
Weehawken, New Jersey
Weehawken is a township in Hudson County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township population was 12,554.-Geography:Weehawken is part of the New York metropolitan area...
, where she was beached. Amazingly, 16 men who had survived the fire hiding in a coal bunker then crawled out of the hulk. Two days after the fire began, the red-hot ship continued to smolder and smoke, which further delayed rescue and recovery efforts.
Bremen also burned intensely. After her crew threw off her mooring lines, she drifted until she was towed to mid-stream by tugs. She eventually ran aground upriver near Weehawken. More than 200 people were on board when the fire began, including visitors. Initial reports indicated that all managed to leave the ship, but many jumped and may not have reached shore.
Many who died in the fires of were interred at the Flower Hill Cemetery, North Bergen
Flower Hill Cemetery, North Bergen
Flower Hill Cemetery is located in North Bergen, New Jersey. It is cojoined with Hoboken Cemetery and Machpelah Cemetery.-Notable burials:*Ed Alberian children's television actor and entertainer...
The holder of the Blue Riband
Blue Riband
The Blue Riband is an unofficial accolade given to the passenger liner crossing the Atlantic Ocean in regular service with the record highest speed. The term was borrowed from horse racing and was not widely used until after 1910. Under the unwritten rules, the record is based on average speed...
at the time of the fire— NDL’s —was also docked in the company’s Hoboken piers, but fared better than its sister ships. She was the first of the steamers that tugs tried to pulled away from the pier (15 minutes after the fire began). Although she was afire at several places, fireboats soon put out those fires, and in the end she suffered little serious damage.
The fire erupted on a Saturday that was considered a “half-holiday” when no departures were scheduled. Had any of the ships been ready to sail, the loss of life and property would have been much greater.
Other losses
The fire also destroyed several Campbell Stores warehouses, built by the Hoboken Land & Improvement CompanyHoboken Land and Improvement Company Building
The Hoboken Land and Improvement Company Building, is located in Hoboken, New Jersey. The building was designed by Charles Fall and was built by Myles Tierney in 1889. The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places on July 3, 1979. The building housed the offices of the Steven's...
, and damaged the sheds of the West Shore Railroad
West Shore Railroad
The West Shore Railroad was the final name of a railroad from Weehawken, New Jersey, across the Hudson River from New York City, north along the west shore of the river to Albany, New York and then west to Buffalo...
, and the nearby piers of the Scandinavian America Line
Scandinavian America Line
The Scandinavian America Line was founded in 1898, when the DFDS took over the steamship company Thingvalla Line...
and Hamburg America Line
Hamburg America Line
The Hamburg Amerikanische Packetfahrt Actien Gesellschaft was a transatlantic shipping enterprise established in Hamburg, Germany during...
. The total value of property losses due to the fire was estimated (the morning after the fire) at $6.175 million, and (the following year) at $5.25 million.
Aftermath
The NDL replaced its Hoboken piers with larger, stronger and more fireproof structures. The new steel piers were known as Hoboken Pier Nos. 1, 2, and 3. All of the damaged ocean liners returned to maritime service, Saale under a different name (the SS J. L. Luckenbach).On the first anniversary of the fire, a large granite monument was dedicated in Flower Hill Cemetery in North Bergen, New Jersey
North Bergen, New Jersey
North Bergen is a township in Hudson County, New Jersey, United States. As of the United States 2010 Census, the township had a total population of 60,773. Originally founded in 1843, the town was much diminished in territory by a series of secessions. Situated on the Hudson Palisades, it is one...
above a mass grave containing unidentifiable bodies of the victims, listing the names of the dead and missing.
News stories of the fire had described below-deck crew “trying in vain to force their way through the small portholes, while the flames pressed relentlessly upon them.” The fire prompted arguments that portholes on all ships should be at least 11 by 13 in (27.9 by 33 cm) in size, to make it easier for them to serve as a means of escape. Others responded that making portholes larger would be cost-prohibitive, or come at the expense of structural strength. In the end, regulations required portholes to be big enough for a person of reasonable size to escape.
Five years later, a fire consumed the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad's
Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad
The Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad Company was a railroad connecting Pennsylvania's Lackawanna Valley, rich in anthracite coal, to Hoboken, New Jersey, , Buffalo and Oswego, New York...
Hoboken ferry piers.
The piers immediately south of the NDL piers, owned before World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
by Hamburg America Line, were destroyed in future fires. In 1921, two of the three piers (Hoboken Pier Nos. 5 and 6) were consumed in a fire that also singed the . Then, in August 1944, Pier No. 4 burned, killing three and briefly setting afire the SS Nathaniel Alexander, a Liberty ship
Liberty ship
Liberty ships were cargo ships built in the United States during World War II. Though British in conception, they were adapted by the U.S. as they were cheap and quick to build, and came to symbolize U.S. wartime industrial output. Based on vessels ordered by Britain to replace ships torpedoed by...
.
Other resources
- Maggie Blanck, “Hoboken Pier Fire, June 30, 1900,” at maggieblanck.com, accessed 2011-03-12.
- "The Great Hoboken Pier Fire of 1900," at Pier 3 website, accessed 2011-03-13.
- Hoboken NJ Dock Fire, 1900,” in GenDisasters.com, accessed 2011-03-13.