Great Fire of 1897
On October 1, 1897, the skyline of Ironton was lit by flames. The Newman and Spanner Saw Mill had caught fire. At the time, the mill had eight million feet of lumber stored on the property.
The fire quickly spread from Newman and Spanner Saw Mill to the Penn Lumber Company on Jefferson.
A call went out to neighboring towns for help. Portsmouth, Ohio and Ashland and Catlettsburg, Kentucky sent assistance.
At one point the flames threatened the water pumps at the City Water Works located on Vernon.
