The West Liberty garage sales are slated to happen on Saturday, May 16. You may not know why they have, historically, been called The Fire Sales, but Andrew Blount does.

Blount, the manager of the Opera House and a member of the West Liberty Historical Society, is steeped in the knowledge of West Liberty’s past.

It is important to note that “there is no historical connection. I have heard it said that the town hosted a town-wide garage sale to help those that lost everything in the fires (in 1880). Well, maybe, but that is not written down anywhere,” Blount said.

“Now, if we had had town-wide garage sales for 130 years continuously, ever since, you could make that connection. But no, it was just that, in around 1986, The West Liberty Downtown Business Association decided to link the sales to the fire. 

“It happened on May 13, and the garage sales are held near that time of year,” Andrew stated.

Seventy-five percent of West Liberty’s downtown was destroyed in a May 13, 1880, fire that is said to have begun in a stable situated near the modern-day post office. Most of the businesses, on both sides of Detroit Street, were casualties in the fire that spanned between Baird and Columbus streets.

“The fire originated in the stable, in the rear of Doctor H.F. Kurfurst’s Block at 3 in the afternoon, on the lot of Mrs. Lyman Cook. It was the middle of the day, which was fortunate because they were able to see it and respond to it instead of being at night when everyone was sleeping,” the local historian explained.

Andrew hesitated to lay the blame on one person. The Cook family rented their building from Dr. Kurfurst. Stables were full of combustible materials and gear, and anyone could have accidentally started a fire.

“It was gossipy back then. It’s challenging to know if the person was blamed for the fire because they thought it was a reasonable expectation that that’s a probable cause, or if they are attempting to slander somebody who they didn’t like, personally,” Andrew chuckled, as he clarified his reasoning for maintaining the mystery. 

Many of those buildings were made of wooden frames, so they burned quickly. West Liberty did not have a fire department then, mostly because fire departments were a newer concept of that time. The whole block closest to the origin was consumed, even though the Bellefontaine Fire Department was rushed down to the scene by train. 

“A reporter from the Bellefontaine Republican hopped on the train with the firefighters to cover the fires,” Andrew added. “The story is an interesting read of a real firsthand account.”

The business block was completely rebuilt after the fires. Before 1880, the buildings would not have matched up as they do now. You can look at the tops of each building to see the markers that show the year of 1881.

All the downtown structures were destroyed in the Fire of 1880, except for the one that now houses Sweetie Pie’s, 129 N. Detroit St. However, that building is not much older than the post-fire construction. Basically, the views of downtown West Liberty do not look a lot different than they did over 100 years ago. 

Don’t miss the West Liberty Fire Sales May 16!  Now, you can walk around downtown West Liberty knowing a little more about how the block came to look as it does now. History is all around us. Connecting with it helps us to better understand our town, our people and the events that shaped us.