A huge fire in the early morning of 3 November 1924, destroyed much of the commercial center of Gratz, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania. This photo essay shows before and after pictures of the area of the fire, with reference to one building, the Miller Brothers’ General Store, which can be seen in the all the pictures. The general store, at 8 East Market Street, was partially damaged in the fire, but not seriously enough to be razed. Fire fighters, were able to save the building, with the help of the wind, which was blowing away from the fire. Although the Miller Brothers did not lose the general store, they did lose some barns in the rear. The general store building is still standing today and is owned by the local historical society.
The first picture in this photo group (above), is of the rear of the Union House (a.k.a. the Gratz Hotel), showing the barn and stable of the hotel. It was taken about 1910. The hotel is the large three-story building in the upper center. Center Street, in which the buggies are parked, crosses diagonally from right center to bottom left, and a roof on a shed on the opposite side from the hotel can be seen at lower right. Note also in upper right of the photograph, near the edge of the photo, and north of the hotel, is the spire of the Simeon Union Church. The Miller General Store roof and chimneys can be seen peering above the shed at upper left.
After the fire, the scene from almost the same perspective was quite different. The hotel, stables and shed and the Miller Brothers’ barns were gone. The rear and side of the Miller Brothers’ General Store, is seen as the only building standing on the left. The row of houses seen at center right in the picture were spared because they were on the opposite side of Market Street and the wind was blowing in the opposite direction.
This next photo shows the rear (or south facing side) of the Miller Brothers’ General Store at far right. However, missing are the Miller Brothers’ barn and shed which were consumed by the fire. Note to the left of center is the spire of the Evangelical Church, a building presently owned by the Gratz Bank. The bank is to the west of the church and can barely be seen in the photo. Of the three houses shown between the church and the Miller Brothers’ Store, the two closest to the store are still standing today, with the one next to the bank purchased and demolished for bank expansion. South Alley, can barely be seen in the photograph because of the rubble from the fire.
The final photograph in this series shows South Center Street, with the ruins of Harry Smith’s home and restaurant. The Miller Brother’s General Store building can be seen at left.
____________________________
These photographs appeared in the souvenir book for the Gratz Sesquicentennial, July 2-4, 1955, and were part of the history of the fire as told by Clayton H. Willier.
Corrections and additional information should be added as comments to this post.