At 11:00 P.M. the “Cry of Fire” was heard alarming the citizens of a fire on the bridge. The wooden bridge went up so quickly that the Toll Taker and his family barely escaped. It was described as “Awful Grandeur”. The fire spread from the bridge to the Kennebec Journal building several times located on the West End of the bridge. It appears that the efforts of the fire department saved the building. The bridge collapsed in less than 30-minutes after the fire was discovered.
It is interesting to note that a new bridge was built and open for business only 138 days after the fire and 74 days after the trees had been cut.