My aunt and uncle has lived in Hoboken for more than 20years; my whole life. I have spent weekends, holidays, and portions of summers there and now grown up; I enjoy reminiscing absolutely wonderful childhood memories. They have a two year old son, whom is my godson so Hoboken is a really big part of my life. I take the train from Rutherford to Hoboken all the time to go and baby-sit and hang out or sleep over when I want to get away from home. Any time I start to think back into my past, there isn’t a single memory I have that doesn’t involve Hoboken, New Jersey somehow. Ever since I can remember, I’ve always been going to Hoboken, for parties, holiday events, family gatherings or just hanging out with some friends.
I first became interested in researching The Bethlehem Steel Co. because my grandfather worked there during the First World War, but due to lack of newspaper findings, I then thought about the Hoboken Ferry Terminal and wondered why it stopped service in 1967. I finally came across some information telling me about The Great Hoboken Pier Fire of 1900 and it is interesting. Not a lot of people may be aware of this incredible devastation that occurred because it was so long ago and so many lives and properties of Hoboken were lost. Though investigated much, The Great Hoboken Pier Fire of 1900 was never fully explained as to how or why the fire started and who started the fire.
The Great Hoboken Pier Fire of 1900 was and always has been a great tragedy that hasn’t been talked about much. The fire is not really clearly remembered and since it was so long ago; Hoboken residents probably do not remember the fire. On Saturday June 30th, there were four ships docked at the North German Lloyd Piers in Hoboken; the Saale, the Bremen, the Main, and the Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse. In pier 3, there were 268 cotton bales and 100 barrels of whiskey located and it was the only pier with a steel frame. There was a very strong and steady wind that very much helped carried the fire and assisted the spread of the fire to all of the piers and the ships that were anchored there that day.
Fig 1.
Fig 1. This is a photograph taken of North German Lloyd Piers, Hoboken, New Jersey, six years after the fire.
The fire started about 4 in the afternoon and it was that time that the officials put in the authenticated report that there was a fire reported. Tugboats, firefighters, trucks all came to try and stop the fires. Thousands to millions of people watched because due to the size of the fire plenty of people from very far away could see and watch the piers go up in smoke. City people from across the Hudson watched the fire spread and witnessed the ships start to drift into the river. Because it was a Saturday, not many people had been onboard working on the ships and most of the crew was non-swimmers. The fire spread to the ships causing the crews to abandon ship and jump off to escape and most of them died. The tugboat Nettie Tice saved 104 people from the water.
Fig. 2
Fig 3.
Fig 4.
Figs 2-4 Photos from 1900 show the fire burning that day.
The first ship to catch fire was the Saale, then the Bremen; both endured heavy flames and damage to all areas of the ships. Then the Kaiser and the Main; they were released before the flames spread to them but they still caught small blazes. This is a picture of how the ships drifted and were tugged to their temporary pier destinations. As you can see, the Saale ended up very far from the North German Lloyd Piers in Hoboken. Of these ships, the Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse and the Bremen were the two of German’s largest steamship lines.
Fig 5.
Fig 5. In the article “What Happened”, this diagram shows passage of the ships’ drifting voyages.
The number of lives lost to the fire of June 30th 1900 will never be pinpointed. The record of deaths is between 326 to 400 dead, drowned or burned alive. Most could not escape the burning ships because of the portholes that were too small and prevented passage of a human being. The portholes measured at 11 inches and after the fire occurred, engineering started changing the way they built ships so that members below deck could escape easier. Men on the tugboats felt helpless after they had seen people burned alive because the portholes were not big enough.
Two of Germany’s biggest steamship lines were docked at Hoboken that day and is just so happens that a fire starts in pier 3 where at the same time cotton bales and barrels of whiskey were present. Hoboken’s residents are 20% German and a lot of German travelers and immigrants came through the North Lloyd German Piers back then. With all the investigation that was possibly done, suspicion should’ve been raised because of the coincidences that occurred on the same day.
Every time I visit Hoboken I learn and touch up on new aspects of it’s past. It doesn’t matter if I go for a walk by the waterfront, play in the park, walk through the narrow streets or get something to eat on Washington Street; the center of Hoboken I feel so connected being there. With Hoboken’s Historical Museum located on Hudson Street, people can come from wherever and learn about Hoboken’s history. The town, the people, the atmosphere, the architecture of the town’s buildings amaze me from what I see but it is a truly one of a kind place to go to learn about its past.
Without the cause or reason of the Great Hoboken Pier Fire of 1900 being explained, this great tragedy of Hoboken, New Jersey that occurred in the years prior to World War I goes very unrecognized and forgotten by Hoboken’s residents. The great catastrophe was the start of all of the fires that occurred following in the years after 1900 in Hoboken. When I go to the Hoboken piers today, I think about how immense Hoboken’s past is. If only I had been alive back then in 1900 to witness this great destruction, I could then fully grasp what the tragedy looked and felt like that day.
Works Cited
A History of the Great Hoboken Pier Fire of 1900." Pier 3. 2005. 12 Apr. 2007 http://www.pier3.org/pier3/index.html.
Blanck, Maggie L. "Hoboken Pier Fire June 30, 1900." Maggie Blanck. Apr. 2007 http://www.maggieblanck.com/Hoboken/PhotosFire.html.
EX-CHIEF BONNER ON HOBOKEN FIRE; Declares That the Cause Will Ever Remain a Mystery." NY Times. 24 July 1900. NY Times Co. Apr. 2007 http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F7071FF83A5F1B738DDDAD0 A94DF405B808CF1D3.
“On the Waterfront." Hoboken Historical Museum. 17 Apr. 2007 http://www.hobokenmuseum.org/views/Waterfront/on_the_waterfront.htm.
"What Happened." Pier 3. 18 Apr. 2007
http://www.pier3.org/pier3/whathappened3.html.
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