WRA Students Retell Details of the Great Fire of 1892

Hudson Heritage Association is honored to be hosting a group of students from Western Reserve Academy for our April monthly meeting to be held at the Barlow Community Center on Thursday, April 13th at 7:30 p.m.

These students are currently enrolled in a course called History of Hudson & Western Reserve College/Academy taught by HHA Co-President, Diccon Ong, a faculty member in the Social Science Department at WRA. In addition to learning about the history of the Connecticut Western Reserve, the founding and settlement of Hudson, and the establishment and subsequent development of Western Reserve College (and its preparatory school, later to become known as WRA), students have had the opportunity to research historically significant topics of their own choosing.

In a presentation entitled, “Hudson’s Great Fire of 1892: Would a Phoenix Arise from the Ashes of a Small Midwestern Town?” these Reserve students will describe the conflagration that shocked the residents of Hudson on a windy, early morning in 1892.

Despite the pre-dawn hours in which this disaster struck, many residents roused themselves out of bed and rushed to Main Street to offer whatever aid they could. Some put their brawn to pumping water for the overwhelmed volunteer fire department, others assisted by carrying threatened goods and other valuables to places of safety, and several brave souls helped their neighbors escape from the buildings burning down around them. The response represented a true community-wide effort and a selfless commitment to the needs of their neighbors and the future of Hudson more broadly speaking.

With the main portion of Main Street reduced to a smoldering rubble, residents almost immediately began the hard work of rebuilding a more flame-retardant and robust commercial district, thereby creating the idyllic Main Street that still exists today, one that has served subsequent generations most ably and is a central feature of our current civic pride. This presentation will highlight the perseverance of Hudson and its residents and trace the Great Fire’s legacy into the modern day, making the topic relevant to every resident of the town–past, present, and future. The April 13 meeting, which begins at 7:30 p.m. at the Barlow Community Center, is free and open to the public. Refreshments will be served following the presentation.