Franklin County, Missouri is celebrating its bi-centennial this year (2019). In commemoration of this year long celebration, I will be placing a number of geocaches around the county celebrating this historic event.
There have been several significant fires in Washington, MO, but for many years the one that stood out the most was known as “The Great Palm Sunday Fire”. On Palm Sunday, April 13,1920, Mr. Louis Aholt was outside his home when he happened to look up and see a spark from a neighbor's chimney land on the roof of his porch. He returned with a bucket of water, but only to find his house was already engulfed with flames. In a matter a moments, the home was total loss. Unfortunately, the fire that started on his porch began to spread to his neighbor's homes as well.
Soon the fire whistle at the Washington Water Works blew and volunteer firemen from all over the city responded. Then, the ear-piercing whistle of the shoe factory whistle and then moments later the pipe factory whistle joined in. This was “three whistle” alarm blaze. The citizens of Washington were well aware by this time that a major catastrophe was in the making.
Because of the strong winds that morning, which had caused the ladies of the town to hold on to their Sunday bonnets with both hands, the embers from the Aholt house jumped from property to property and even started fires a mile away from the original source of the inferno. As the winds finally died down and the smoke cleared, the next morning the extent of the inferno’s devastation became apparent: The Aholt house fire had spread and destroyed eight buildings and damaged 20 more. The only small consolation for Mr. Aholt was that he was able to collect $500 in insurance damages. Hopefully his neighbors also also had fire insurance coverage.
The final coordinates for this cache will take you to a retired fire station owned by the City of Washington Historical Society and converted into a Firehouse Museum. The museum is normally closed, but private tours can be scheduled. Inside through the glass windows of the garage doors you will be able to see a 1917 Model T Ford which was Washington’s first motor-driven fire truck. It would have most likely been put into service during the Great Palm Sunday Fire. It was built from Henry Otto’s 1914 Model T car. He offered the car to the fire department for conversion to a fire truck. In the 1980's, it was found in a junkyard and several fire department members restored it.
To find the final coordinates, answer the following question:
What year was Washington, Missouri's "Great Palm Sunday Fire"?
If 1920, then N 38 33.419 W 091 01.154
If 1925, then N 38 32.696 W 091 07.372
Please do not hunt for this cache at night. Stealth may be required at times. Parking is within a few feet of the cache. Permission to place this cache was granted by the Washington Historical Society.
Sources:
https://www.washmohistorical.org/firehouse-museum/
Wilkie, I Didn't Know That.