On the Afternoon of July 4, 1866 a fire started in a boathouse on the docks that would leave the city of Portland, Maine in ruin. 15 hours later an area three-quarters of a mile long and covering about 200 acres was effected. More the 1,500 buildings were destroyed leaving more than 10,000 people homeless. The losses included all of the cities newspapers, banks and lawyers offices, numerous churches and hotels, City Hall, the Post Office, and Customs building. At the time it was the largest ubran fire in US history.

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