Memorials to Disasters that Changed Minnesota, Part II

While many memorials to disasters in Minnesota include the names of the victims, others do not, particularly disasters that caused numerous deaths.

Two examples of such memorials are those for the Hinckley Fire (1894) and the Cloquet/Moose Lake Fire (1918). Both fires struck on a Saturday, killed more than 400 people and are believed to have been started by the spark of a passing train. Another similarity: citizens of both towns were rescued by trains that dropped them off in Duluth and Superior; their memorials, however, are very different.

Hinckley Fire Memorial

The Hinckley Fire memorial is an obelisk, “a pillar of stone that has a square base and sides that taper like a pyramid toward a pointed top,”¹ similar to the Washington Monument, but much, much smaller. Each of the four sides has an inscription:

“The Great Hinckley Fire This Monument is erected by The State of Minnesota under an Act of the Legislature Approved April 7th, A. D. 1899 To the Memory of Four Hundred and Eighteen Men Women and Children who perished in the Great Hinckley Forest Fire of September First A. D. 1894.”

“September 1st, A.D. 1894 On the First Day of September, A.D. 1894, between the Hours of Three and Five O’Clock in the afternoon a forest fire swept over Central Pine County devastating Four Hundred square miles of Country, Consuming the Villages of Hinckley, Sandstone, Mission Creek and Brook Park, and destroying more than Four Hundred and Eighteen human lives.”

"Dedicated September 1st, A.D. 1900 This Monument is dedicated to the Pioneers of Civilization in the Forests of Minnesota."

This part of the Hinckley Fire memorial really touched my heart. The 248 people buried here were probably burned beyond recognition:

"In Memoriam In the Four Trenches North of this Monument lie the remains of Two Hundred and Forty Eight Men, Women and Children, Residents of Hinckley, who perished in the fire which this monument was erected to commemorate."

 

The Cloquet Fire Memorial

The Cloquet Fire memorial is located on the NW corner of Hwy 33 and Cloquet Ave., Fauley Park, Cloquet, Minn. This semi-oblong-shaped stone can be seen by anyone driving north on Hwy 33 towards Hwy 53 and the Iron Range.

The monument’s inscription says:

"Erected and dedicated to the courageous men, women & children who returned and rebuilt Cloquet after the disastrous fire of October 12, 1918 which completely destroyed the city.

Dedicated on the 50th anniversary of the fire
October 12, 1968"


There is another fire memorial in Cloquet that most people do not see. This large boulder is located in Hillcrest Cemetery, up the hill from Pinehurst Park, hidden amongst the trees.

The inscription reads:

"In Memory
Of those who rest in this, the original, unplatted burial ground, known as the “Old Cemetery” of Knife Falls and Cloquet, and to those who rest in the single lot section of platted Hillcrest Cemetery, blocks fifty-three to seventy-one inclusive, lying to the west and south, and to similar blocks, twenty-seven to thirty-six, inclusive lying to the extreme north.

The ravages of time and loss of burial records in the nineteen eighteen fire made proper identification of all impossible. That their rest be not disturbed, nor memory forgotten, the areas designated are marked by corner posts and this tablet.

May they sleep in peace."


This memorial hit home for me. My paternal grandfather’s brother Carl died of diphtheria in 1909. According to his death certificate, he was quickly buried in Cloquet the day he died, most likely to prevent further spread of the disease.

Because Carl died before the 1918 fire, I have been unable to locate any records of where he was buried. Since the rest of his family – his parents and siblings – are buried in Hillcrest Cemetery, I’m assuming he was also buried there, and this memorial applies to him.

Do you have an ancestor that was killed in one of Minnesota’s natural or man-made disasters?

LLet me help you find out what parts of history your family had a role in.


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¹ http://www.bing.com/Dictionary/Search?q=obelisk&FORM=IA10HR