On 11 June 1805, Detroit burned. “In less than two hours the whole town was in flames, and before three o’clock not a vestige of a house (except the chimneys) visible within the limits of Detroit… the situation of the inhabitants is deplorable beyond description; dependence, want and misery.”

Just think about it. In the blink of an eye, Detroiters lost everything to one of the most disastrous and destructive freaks of nature, a fire.

At about 9:00am, a fire burst out in a stable located at the end of St. Anne Street. The fire department was on the scene immediately with the fire engine. People started to form a bucket brigade from a near river to the stable. Men passed buckets upon buckets down from the river to the fire.

The stable on St. Anne Street was the first victim. Over the course of six long hours, the fire blazed over all of Detroit and leveled the base of the city to an ashy building graveyard. Except for chimneys, by 3:00pm not a house was visible on Detroit’s surface.

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A motto later came from this disastrous event, “We hope for better things; it will arise from its ashes.” That quote was later made into Detroit’s corporate seal and their official motto. Even though Detroit was subdued by this tragedy, it wouldn’t keep it down in the dumps. Within the next ten years, Detroit was rebuilt with the resemblance of a modern city with wider streets, parks and public buildings. Many say that the reconstruction of the city helped make Detroit what it is today, not to mention the fort which is standing tall to this day, and is considered to be a landmark.

The fort that was the only structure still standing after the fire of 1805 was the site of the Ft. Shelby Hotel which was remodeled into the Double-Tree Suite Hotel located on W Lafayette Boulevard. The hotel is now a reminder of the Fort that stood against all odds on that early June morning. The building is a reminder to the people of Detroit of what they went through and how they came out of it stronger than ever!

–Jeffrey Adams

Photo Credit: Postcard of Ft. Shelby Detroit which was built on the site of Ft. Shelby.