| The inventory includes the contents of vertical files and information the about Bloomington Fire (1900) and Bloomington Firefighters. The vertical files are located at the McLean County Museum of History's Library and Archives. |
| Bloomington Fire (1900) Letter |
| A letter from George to "my dearest," June 19, 1900; 2 pg photocopy; contains description of the fire, firemen"s activities, area burned |
| Bloomington Fire (1900) Newspaper Articles (This file contains a list of newspaper articles which appeared in a variety of newspapers from 1900-2008. (Pantagraph unless noted) |
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| Articles: | |
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1.1
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"Big Fire At Bloomington: Illinois Town Loses Over $1,500,000 in Flames," New York Times, June 20, 1900. |
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1.2
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"Incidents of the Fire. Annette Tells What She Saw and Heard," Daily Bulletin, June 22, 1900, p. 2. |
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1.3
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"In Perfect Condition," Daily Bulletin, June 22, 1900, p. 1. |
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1.4
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"Visits Court House: Annette Tells of the Conditions Since the Fire," Sunday Bulletin, June 24, 1900, p. 1. |
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1.5
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"Building the New," transcription of June 19, 1901. |
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1.6
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"Over $1,300,000 for New Buildings," June 19, 1901, p. 9 |
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1.7
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"The Town Clock" (poem), June 19, 1901, p. 10. |
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1.8
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"1900 Blaze Stays 'Hot' in Memories," June 18, 1950, p. 22. |
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1.9
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"He Was There: Ralph Green Gives Boy"s Picture of City"s Big Fire," June 17, 1958, p. 12. |
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1.10
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"When Fire Struck," June 19, 1960 (original and photocopy). |
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1.11
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"The Day the Town Burned Down: Disaster Lurked Unseen," June 19, 1960 (original and photocopy). |
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1.12
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"Witness Describes Day Bloomington Burned," July 8, 1968, p. A12. |
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1.13
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"Great fire of 1900: 'It was awful,' June 15, 1980, p. A-8 & A-9. |
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1.14
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"Ring of destruction" (aerial photo of area), June 15, 1980, p. A-8. |
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1.15
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"Remembering the Great Fire of 1900," Twin City Community News, June 14, 2000, p. 1 (original and photocopy). |
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1.16
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"Major fires downtown," June 18, 2000. |
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1.17
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"Desperate hours. Firefighters lost battle to save much of downtown," no date. |
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1.18
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"Bloomington"s 'Great Fire" of 1900 quickly swept through 45 buildings" ("Page from Our Past" column), June 15, 2008, p. B3. |
| Advertisements: | |
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2.1
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Phoenix Sale 1900, Griesheim & Son, June 15, 1901, p. 8. |
| Miscellany: | |
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3.1
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"Bloomington Will Build Again," Pantagraph flier for National Newspaper Week, June 20, 1900. |
| Bloomington Fire (1900) Souvenir Booklets (This file contains booklets about the "Great Fire" of June 19, 1900. The booklets include before and after photographs, lists of businesses affected by the fire and their monetary losses, historical sketches, proclamations, and advertisements.) |
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1.1
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"Bloomington Illinois Before and After the Great Fire of June 19, 1900," Bloomington, IL (Corn Belt Printing and Stationery Co.,) no date, 16 pgs, includes photographs of before, during, and after the fire, list of businesses (1 full booklet, 1 partial booklet) |
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1.2
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"City of Bloomington, Illinois, Before and After the Great Fire of June 19, 1900," Bloomington, IL (Pantagraph Printing and Stationery Co.,) no date, 16 pgs, includes historical sketch of Bloomington, enumerated list of insurance losses, before and after photographs (four copies) |
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1.3
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"Bloomington Illinois, U.S.A. 1901 Souvenir," printed for the Bloomington Business Men"s Association by the Pantagraph Printing and Stationery Co., no date, 2 pgs (two copies, one with pink cover) |
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1.4
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"Business Men"s Proclamation," Bloomington, 1901, proclaims the resuscitation from the fire, an explanation of the proclamation, photographs, advertisements, 6 pgs (2 complete copies (?), 2 partial copies) |
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1.5
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Miscellaneous photographs of after the fire, 8 photographs |
| Bloomington Fire Department (This file contains histories and articles about the Bloomington Fire Department. Many of these articles detail the changes in equipment and fire safety in Bloomington.) |
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| History | |
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1.1
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List of department fatalities. |
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1.2
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Booklet, "Grand Opening Airport Fire Station and Headquarters Fire Station" c. 1973. |
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1.3
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"History of the Bloomington Fire Service," article in Illinois Firefighter (Spring 1976) (photocopy) |
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1.4
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"The Bloomington Fire Department Celebrates 125 years of Service," June 1993, 8 p. booklet, written and complied by Bob Williams (3 copies) |
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1.5
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Invitation, 125th anniversary open house, headquarters fire station, 310 N. Lee Street, June 19, 1993 |
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1.6
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Bloomington Fire Department brochure (undated). |
| Miscellaneous | |
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2.1
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Views of engine house No. 1 and No. 2, from Souvenir Program of the Fiftieth Anniversary of the City of Bloomington, May 10, 1900. |
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2.2
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2 tickets: Eighth Anniversary Ball , 1866 and Fourteenth Annual Ball, 1929. |
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2.3
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National State Bank check, April 21, 1884, paid to the Bloomington Fire Department, $50.00. |
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2.4
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Fire Alarm Boxes, c. June 1898 (photocopy, source unknown). |
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2.5
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Firemen"s Pension Fund, 5th annual entertainment program, Chatterton Opera House, March 12, 1914 (photocopy). |
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2.6
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Bumper sticker, "BFD 388 . . ." (no date). |
| Newspaper articles (Pantagraph, unless noted) | |
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3.1
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Tenth annual Prairie Birds ball, advertisement and article, December 23 and 24, 1864. |
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3.2
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"The New Steamer," Daily Leader, September 21, 1871, p. 3. |
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3.3
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"Fire Alarm," May 22, 1879, p. 4. |
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3.4
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List of fire alarms boxes, Daily Bulletin, November 12, 1885, p. 4. |
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3.5
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""Brave Boys Are They,"" August 3, 1889. |
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3.6
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"Moving Into New Central Fire Station," November 13, 1902, p. 3. |
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3.7
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"Glimpses of Bloomington"s Fire Department History," June 19, 1907, p. 3. |
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3.8
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"Two Pictures of the Old-Time Fire Department," July 13, 1907. |
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3.9
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"May Establish Fireman"s Pension," September 3, 1907, p. 3. |
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3.10
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"Fireman Colton Is Dead," September 19, 1912, p. 9. |
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3.11
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"Fireman Corman Gets First Vacation" (includes seniority list), June 4, 1913. |
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3.12
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"The City"s Oldest Fireman Dead" (Thomas B. Corman), January 12, 1917, p. 12. |
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3.13
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"Henry Mayer is Chief 26 Years," July 30, 1921, p. 12. |
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3.14
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"Death Summons John Radbourn," April 6, 1920, p. 6 (longtime fireman, brother of Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher). |
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3.15
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Three newspaper articles (January 16 through January 21, 1922) on death of fireman Larry Burns (one of five in-the-line-of-duty BFD fatalities). Daily Bulletin and Pantagraph. |
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3.16
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"Assistant Fire Chief Summoned" (Charles Abrams), July 7, 1922, p. 5. |
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3.17
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"Henry Mayer Is Taken By Death," October 10, 1928, p. 5. |
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3.18
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"Chief Neal Lists Big Fires," August 26, 1930. |
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3.19
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"City"s Fire Chiefs Few," August 26, 1930, p. 12-D. |
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3.20
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"Jesse Minton, 67, Veteran Fireman Dies in Champaign," July 5, 1932, p. 3. |
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3.21
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"Sees Fire Department Grow Up With the City," June 5, 1938, p. 3 (profile of retired foreman James "Cap" Morrissey). |
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3.22
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"Behrend Starts 30th Year," May 4, 1949, p. 3. |
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3.23
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"Firemen made ultimate sacrifice in "28 fire" ("A Page from Our Past" column), September 23, 2007, p. B3. |