Aftermath and Reconstruction
The Jordan Block was located in a highly trafficked area. During the day, countless automobiles, carriages, and pedestrians would pass by while traveling Main Street. At the rear of the building was the railroad station and railyard, which was packed with travelers and railcars filled with waiting passengers. The day after the fire, several portions of the Jordan Block collapsed, injuring passers-by. The structure was quickly deemed unsafe, and a professional dynamiting crew was brought in to raze the remaining structure. At 4:40 PM, the crew placed over sixty pounds of dynamite on the South wall of the building… a decision which proved disastrous. When the charges were detonated, debris was jettisoned onto Main Street, and spread across the railyard. One boulder ripped clear through a railcar filled with passengers, and a brakeman walking near the blast had his clothes torn off. One onlooker described the scene as a battlefield. The detonation injured fourteen people and killed another. The chaos resulting from the explosion garnered scathing public backlash. The coroner described the use of dynamite as “excessive and dangerous”, other detractors expressed that the weakened wall could have been torn down with “a couple of good, strong ropes.”
The financial losses were staggering. William and Fredrick Jordan estimated their losses at $150,000. The Hartford Courant reported the day after the fire that the Jordan brothers only carried $33,500 of insurance. After a visit by adjusters, they would receive nearly $80,000. Henry Fryer, a tailor who occupied a space in the northwest corner of the second floor, lost $1,500 of equipment and materials which had been damaged by smoke and water. The Thread City Cyclers, a bicycle club that rented a room on the second floor, lost $1,000 of equipment. Natchaug Lodge No. 22, Knights of Pythias, a fraternal organization that occupied a space on the top floor, suffered $2,000 in losses. The Willimantic Trust Company, whose headquarters was in the northwest corner of the ground floor, was spared the fire, though they lost several hundred dollars of stationery to smoke and water damage. Fifteen telegraph wires belonging to the Western Union Telegraph Company, which had connected New York to Boston, had been severed during the blaze, which disrupted communication between the two cities for several hours.
The Jordan Hardware Company temporarily relocated to the Chronicle Building on Church Street as they drafted plans to rebuild. On December 12th, 1916, the company purchased a second building on Church Street to sell kitchenware. A new, larger block was completed on the site of the original building in the Summer of 1916. On October 25th, 1925, the Jordan Brothers sold their interest in the company. On August 5th, 1944, the company was once again sold to the Dahl Oil company of Norwich, who continued to operate it until August 3rd of 1963.
The Jordan Hardware fire was one of the largest fires to ever ravage Willimantic. This tragic event shocked the community, and took with it a unique piece of commercial architecture. Though the losses were staggering, those involved found the strength to pick up, relocate, and rebuild, a testament to the success of early Willimantic, and the strength of this great, industrious community.