February 15th has yielded destruction and tragedy for Montpelier
more than once.

The fire started at 2:30 in the morning on State Street in Montpelier on this day in 1914. It would rage for the next five and a half hours, destroying all of Union Block, including businesses and offices. By 8:00 a.m. the fire was about out, and the icy ruins were visible.

Amazingly, on February 15th, exactly ten years later, another fire would break out in Montpelier, this time in the Lawrence Block. Eleven people lost their lives.

Will Gisborne woke up and raced from apartment to apartment, waking his neighbors. Will Gisborne saved many lives that night, but he was not able to get out of the building himself, and perished.

Image courtesy the Vermont Historical Society.

February Archives | February 16