The Great Fire of New Bern

It was on December 1, 1922, nearly 100 years ago. A fire started at the Rowland Lumber Company on the banks of the Neuse River. Then another fire started in a home on Kilmarnock Street near the Five Points intersection. And many of the city’s firefighters were attending a state championship football game in Raleigh. And the winds were whipping up a firestorm. The result was the Great Fire of 1922. More than 3,000 people were left homeless and 40 city blocks destroyed.