The Great Lynn Fire of 1889
How a late-November blaze began in a wooden section of the Mower block, raced through timber shoe factories and led to a rebuilt downtown.
Just before noon on November 26, 1889, a fire broke out in a wooden building on the Mower block near Almont Street. Before it was stopped, it had burned roughly 31 acres of downtown Lynn. Here is how it started, how it spread and how the city rebuilt.
Many of the buildings it destroyed were the shoe factories that made Lynn Shoe City, six years after Jan Matzeliger’s lasting machine sped up their work.
The day it began
Contemporary images and captions identify the conflagration as occurring on November 26, 1889. Newspaper reports from the time say the fire was first reported at 11:55 a.m.
Those same reports say the blaze raged for hours across the business district as crews struggled to control it.
Where the fire started
Multiple contemporary accounts point to Mower & Bros. — commonly called Mower’s — as the origin. Reporters and witnesses named a wooden or wood‑framed section of the Mower block, over a boiler room on or near Almont Street, as the initial location.
How it spread through the business district
The blaze moved with exceptional speed through timber‑construction shoe blocks, factory buildings and workshops. Contemporary coverage describes crews losing control as the fire reached down to the water’s edge.
Later fire histories note conditions that intensified the spread, including oil‑saturated wooden floors and heavy timber construction common in shoe factories of the era.
Losses and relief efforts
Modern summaries of the event estimate the fire consumed roughly 31 acres of downtown Lynn. Some accounts tally total losses in the hundreds of buildings; one modern summary gives a figure of 384 buildings destroyed.
Contemporary press reports placed monetary loss in the millions and listed banks, daily newspapers and many shoe blocks among the casualties of the blaze. Boston organized an immediate relief response the day after the fire, and a relief meeting there raised large sums to aid Lynn residents and businesses, according to contemporary coverage.
How the city rebuilt
Local histories and later fire studies record that Lynn rebuilt its downtown in the years after 1889. Many wooden commercial blocks were replaced with new masonry buildings, and industry returned to the reconstructed blocks.
Newspaper follow‑up reporting at the time described reconstruction activity and the gradual restoration of business in the damaged area.
What remains today
Photographs and prints of the ruins survive in library collections, including the Library of Congress, and show block after block of burned-out buildings.
For more of the city’s past, see our Lynn history stories.
Frequently asked questions
When did the Great Lynn Fire happen?
The fire broke out just before noon on November 26, 1889. Newspaper reports from the time say it was first reported at 11:55 a.m.
Where did the Great Lynn Fire start?
It started in a wooden building on the Mower block near Almont Street. Contemporary accounts point to Mower & Bros., commonly called Mower’s, with the fire beginning in a wood-framed section over a boiler room.
How much of Lynn did the 1889 fire burn?
Modern summaries estimate the fire consumed roughly 31 acres of downtown Lynn. Some accounts count losses in the hundreds of buildings, and one modern summary gives 384 buildings destroyed.
Why did the Lynn fire spread so quickly?
The fire moved fast through timber-construction shoe blocks, factory buildings and workshops. Later fire histories note oil-saturated wooden floors and heavy timber construction, both common in shoe factories of the era, as conditions that intensified the spread.
How did Lynn rebuild after the fire?
Lynn rebuilt its downtown in the years after 1889, according to local histories and later fire studies. Many wooden commercial blocks were replaced with new masonry buildings, and industry returned to the reconstructed blocks.
Sources: Library of Congress (image ‘Lynn Conflagration No. 2’); Historic newspaper reprint; Fire history summary (FireRescue1) referencing the November 1889 Lynn conflagration.
