Just before noon on themorning of March 29, 1879, crowds began to gather on the public square in Newark. The beautiful clock tower atop the courthouse they had admired for the last few years was once again engulfed in flames.  The people of Newark watched with a collective sense of déjà vu as fire threatened their most beloved symbol, the pride of their town square.  Within a few hours, the Newark Fire Department contained the flames (with the aid of a fire truck from Columbus), saving most of the structure which still stands today.  The courthouse's clock tower, however, was entirely gutted.  The west courtroom also sustained significant damage, including destroyed stained glass windows now thought by some to have been made by Tiffany.   A contemporary eyewitness related, "The most beautiful temple in which Justice reigned in this State...was nothing but a mass of charred and broken walls, heaps of twisted iron girders, and full of stifling odors.  It is literally true that strong men wept at the sight of it."

The Public's Reaction
Unlike the 1875 fire, this fire was truly distressing to the public.  The fourth courthouse was beloved, and still nearly brand-new.  Once the shock of yet another fire wore off, questions began to swirl about what could have caused it.  Some suspicious Newark residents suggested arson, but the time of the fire (around lunchtime, in the full light of day) made arson seem unlikely. The architect, H.E. Myer of Cleveland, had assured them not four years earlier that his new courthouse would be virtually indestructible by fire.  Now it was evident that this was not the case, and the public demanded answers.  A grand jury was assembled to conduct an inquest into the fire, with the results published publicly in the Newark Advocate.     

According to the inquest, the apparent cause of the fire was a defective ventilating flue made of pine lumber, which ignited in a chimney on the northeast side of the building.  When the inquest was published, it placed blame squarely with Myer and his plans for the building.  The public outcry began almost immediately.  Myer had promised Newark a fireproof courthouse, and it appeared he had not delivered.  Angry locals wrote in to the local papers, the Newark Advocate and the Newark American Tribune, demanding that Myer be held accountable for the damage.  

But Myer, it seemed, was already holding himself accountable.  Shortly after the fire, he was checked into a mental health facility in Cleveland after suffering something of a nervous breakdown.  Although we will probably never know for sure, it seems that the fire in his supposedly-fireproof design-not to mention the blame laid at his doorstep by an angry city-- was a blow to his pride, his professional career, and his mental health.  News of his institutionalization was leaked to the Newark Advocate by one of the County Commissioners, fanning the flames of their anger even more.

Whether it was the result of an unfortunate accident or a miscalculation on the part of the architect, fire destroyed the clock tower of the 1875 courthouse.  However, the rest of it survives to this day, and continues to be an important and beautiful Newark landmark.  Perhaps most fortunately of all, no public records were lost in this fire.   The upper portion was rebuilt in 1880 at the cost of $55,000.

Return to the Virtual Tour

Sources:

"1879 Courthouse mystery fire solved?"  The Newark Advocate, January 2, 1993.
Brister, E. M. P. Centennial History of the City of Newark and Licking County, Ohio. Chicago: S. J. Clarke Pub. Co, 1909.
"Court Matters: Report of Grand Jury Concerning Court House Fire." The Newark Advocate,     April 18, 1879.
"Fire destroyed first County Courthouse."  The Licking Countian, March 2, 1989.
Hill, N.N and A.A. Graham.  History of Licking County, Ohio.  Newark, Ohio: A. A. Graham, 1881.
"History of the Licking County Courthouses of Newark, Ohio."  Licking County Historical Society.  Baker Video & Film Production, 1997.
Huff, W.T. "Licking County Courthouses, part 1." The Licking County Historical Society Quarterly.  Vol.7, no. 2: 1997.
---    Research notes of W.T. Huff.  Available in the archive of the Licking County Historical Society.
"It is currently reported..." The Newark Advocate, April 18, 1879.
Newark American Tribune, April 4, 1879.
"Newark's centerpiece." The Newark Advocate, November 19, 1989.
"The building was supposed to be fireproof..." The Newark Advocate, March 28, 2004.
"The Story of Licking County's Courthouses."  Licking County Bicentennial Commission's Publications Committee, 1976.