LaFollette was ablaze 120 years ago Friday, May 10

This is a picture of the Cumberland Inn which housed Winklers Drug Store and the Post Office on East Central Avenue. This was about where Lindsay’s Furniture & Appliance sits today.

By Charlie Hutson

LAFOLLETTE, TN (WLAF) – There was a fire!

In the early morning hours of May 10, 1904, there was a fire, and soon the little town of LaFollette was ablaze.  The black smoke billowing from the fire could be seen for miles.  It was reported the fire began at the Cumberland Inn in a stairwell, close to where some oily rags were kept.

The Cumberland Inn was LaFollette’s largest hotel.  It accommodated visitors to LaFollette and also provided permanent housing for others.  It was a large three story building that faced East Central Avenue, about 75 feet east of the corner of Central and North Tennessee Avenue.  The ground level was the home to Winkler’s Drug Store, the Post Office and the entrance to the hotel.

Once the fire broke out, it spread quickly.  Back then most of the town’s buildings were built with wood; kindling for the fire.  In 1904, there were almost no buildings on Central Avenue.  So the fire spread through the hotel and soon caught the buildings on North Tennessee on fire.  In a short period of time, the east side of North Tennessee Avenue was blazing.  There was a report that the LaFollette Coal & Iron Co. had some dynamite stored in one of the east side buildings and soon the heat and fire set it off.  When it exploded, it sent a fireball to the west side of North Tennessee Avenue.  Soon shops were consumed on both sides.

Here is a map of downtown LaFollette in 1902 showing the location of the Cumberland Inn.

In those days, there were several saloons up and down Tennessee Avenue.  Some say that the alcohol helped stoke the fire.  In 1904 there were no fire departments, not even a bucket brigade to combat the fire.  So most people were trying to save as much of their belongings as possible.Store owners tried to move their stock to the middle of the street, but soon it caught fire.

It is said that embers from the fire burned for days.  Luckily, there were no deaths during the disaster.

Once shopkeepers began to rebuild, most decided to build back with brick and mortar.  Today many of those buildings are still standing.

This year marks the 120th anniversary of the May 10, 1904, fire in the little town of LaFollette, which was only seven years old at the time.

The original Winkler’s Drug Store building, now part of Lindsay’s Furniture, is in about the same location as the Winkler’s Drug Store when it was in the Cumberland Inn. (WLAF NEWS PUBLISHED – 05/09/2024-6AM)