There is a lot written about the fire, this is an excerpt from a booklet 'One Hundred Years in Brisbin, Houtzdale and Woodward Township published in 1976 compiled from the files of the Houtzdale Observer, History of Houtzdale written by the late John B. McGrath in 1912 and Histories of Clearfield County written in 1887 and 1911. I would like to add that I grew up in that area and cannot see how the fire would have spread from town to the cemetery, it is quite a distance away. Also in all the literature that I have read, it does not state that the cemetery burned. Richard Marion was the local historian for the cemetery but he passed away several years ago. He could walk with you and point out every plot and who is buried in it with or without a marker. I talked to a man from Brisbin before Richard passed away and he said that he compiling a list to put online but to my knowledge has not done it yet. I'm sure it is a monumental task. Here is the excerpt: BRISBIN FIRE What the Johnestown Flood was to Cambria County, certainly the Brisbin Fire was to at least this part of Clearfield County. It was the morning of Friday May 2, 1884 when the wind was blowing with nearly hurricane speed that the residents of Brisbin realized with sudden alarm that what had appeared to be a fairly remote forest fire was sweeping down the hollow toward their newly incorporated borough. Stories vary as to the cause. one is that some people west of the town were burning brush; one is that sparks from the dinkey engine caused it; another is that a forest fire caused by careless smokers started the blaze and still another is that sparks were carried from the mill's slab burner where the shaving and chips were burned as waste. With the west wind blowing so strongly that morning it wasn't long until the fire was seen to be approaching the sawmill of Hoover, Hughes and Co. Immediately all the men available were sent out to fight the fire. This was about 10 o'clock in the morning. By noon it was evident that the mill was doomed. What really set the town afire was the fact that when the fire reached the great piles of boards outside the mill the terrific wind lifted them high into the air and hurled them through the town. By two o'clock the mill was a seething mass and the town was an uproar of confusion-crackling of flames, rush and roar of the wind, screams of women, wails of children, shouts of the men. By half past three, Brisbin had been wiped out and the fire had moved on toward Sterling destroying Powel's trestle. At 6PM the fire was still raging at Sterling. So far as we know, at least one person was burned to death, an old lady named Mrs. Donovan who died in a futile attempt to rescue her pig. Mr.. T.C.Cryan of the Hoover Hughes Co. saved his own life by burying himself in the earth which he was compelled to do twice. Nearly everyone over sixty years old today who lived in Brisbin or Houtzdale then recalls vividly some of the incidents of that memorable day. One of our townsmen, then a child of barely six, very distinctly remembers having disobediently run off from his mother and being some distance from home when the panic spread, was terrorized to find he could scarcely return home because the hot stones and earth so badly burned his little bare feet. Some are like "Aunt Kate' Bateman of Brisbin who remembers climbing to the roof of the house and there, with bucketfuls of water handed her by her children, keeping it wet with the aid of blankets, coats and anything else available. And her little house survived although partly because it was not situated directly in the main sweep of the fire. Nearly 220 families were left homeless and only about a dozen buildings remained standing in the borough. The people of Houtzdale and parts of Sterling quickly made places in their homes for the victims of the fire. Even on the same day, the Houtzdale Relief Committee was formed which immediately sent out telegrams to the principal towns in Clearfield, Centre, Blair and Huntingdon counties. This committee and the Brisbin Committee were active for some months afterward. The total relief fund amounted to over $11,000. It soon became evident that the people of Brisbin would not long remain discouraged. Let us quote from the Houtzdale Observer of January 8, 1885, a little over seven months later, which says, 'Brisbin today is ahead of the Brisbin which on the evening of the 3rd of May had been reduced to ashes. With better buildings, with new energies called forth by disaster, her citizens are more self-reliant and stronger, and while the fire was a terrible loss in many ways, it showed forth the highest and best attributes of the citizens of both boroughs."

Thank you ever so much for your time and for this detailed information. I cannot thank you enough. This information was extremely informative and quite interesting. I am sure others will find this so as well. Have a wonderful day Thank you again Sue ----- Original Message ----- From: "C.F. Ferdarko" <confaye@earthlink.net> To: <PACLEARF-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Wednesday, February 15, 2006 3:41 PM Subject: [Clearfield] Brisbin fire > There is a lot written about the fire, this is an excerpt from a booklet 'One Hundred Years in Brisbin, Houtzdale and Woodward Township published in 1976 compiled from the files of the Houtzdale Observer, History of Houtzdale written by the late John B. McGrath in 1912 and Histories of Clearfield County written in 1887 and 1911. > > I would like to add that I grew up in that area and cannot see how the fire would have spread from town to the cemetery, it is quite a distance away. Also in all the literature that I have read, it does not state that the cemetery burned. > > Richard Marion was the local historian for the cemetery but he passed away several years ago. He could walk with you and point out every plot and who is buried in it with or without a marker. I talked to a man from Brisbin before Richard passed away and he said that he compiling a list to put online but to my knowledge has not done it yet. I'm sure it is a monumental task. > > Here is the excerpt: > BRISBIN FIRE > What the Johnestown Flood was to Cambria County, certainly the Brisbin Fire was to at least this part of Clearfield County. It was the morning of Friday May 2, 1884 when the wind was blowing with nearly hurricane speed that the residents of Brisbin realized with sudden alarm that what had appeared to be a fairly remote forest fire was sweeping down the hollow toward their newly incorporated borough. Stories vary as to the cause. one is that some people west of the town were burning brush; one is that sparks from the dinkey engine caused it; another is that a forest fire caused by careless smokers started the blaze and still another is that sparks were carried from the mill's slab burner where the shaving and chips were burned as waste. > With the west wind blowing so strongly that morning it wasn't long until the fire was seen to be approaching the sawmill of Hoover, Hughes and Co. Immediately all the men available were sent out to fight the fire. This was about 10 o'clock in the morning. By noon it was evident that the mill was doomed. What really set the town afire was the fact that when the fire reached the great piles of boards outside the mill the terrific wind lifted them high into the air and hurled them through the town. By two o'clock the mill was a seething mass and the town was an uproar of confusion-crackling of flames, rush and roar of the wind, screams of women, wails of children, shouts of the men. By half past three, Brisbin had been wiped out and the fire had moved on toward Sterling destroying Powel's trestle. At 6PM the fire was still raging at Sterling. > So far as we know, at least one person was burned to death, an old lady named Mrs. Donovan who died in a futile attempt to rescue her pig. Mr.. T.C.Cryan of the Hoover Hughes Co. saved his own life by burying himself in the earth which he was compelled to do twice. > Nearly everyone over sixty years old today who lived in Brisbin or Houtzdale then recalls vividly some of the incidents of that memorable day. One of our townsmen, then a child of barely six, very distinctly remembers having disobediently run off from his mother and being some distance from home when the panic spread, was terrorized to find he could scarcely return home because the hot stones and earth so badly burned his little bare feet. > Some are like "Aunt Kate' Bateman of Brisbin who remembers climbing to the roof of the house and there, with bucketfuls of water handed her by her children, keeping it wet with the aid of blankets, coats and anything else available. And her little house survived although partly because it was not situated directly in the main sweep of the fire. > Nearly 220 families were left homeless and only about a dozen buildings remained standing in the borough. The people of Houtzdale and parts of Sterling quickly made places in their homes for the victims of the fire. Even on the same day, the Houtzdale Relief Committee was formed which immediately sent out telegrams to the principal towns in Clearfield, Centre, Blair and Huntingdon counties. This committee and the Brisbin Committee were active for some months afterward. The total relief fund amounted to over $11,000. > It soon became evident that the people of Brisbin would not long remain discouraged. Let us quote from the Houtzdale Observer of January 8, 1885, a little over seven months later, which says, 'Brisbin today is ahead of the Brisbin which on the evening of the 3rd of May had been reduced to ashes. With better buildings, with new energies called forth by disaster, her citizens are more self-reliant and stronger, and while the fire was a terrible loss in many ways, it showed forth the highest and best attributes of the citizens of both boroughs." > >