The Big Fire, December 3, 1944

Looking east on Main Street, on the right the Bank of Montreal branch, on the left the Ottawa Hotel

December 3, 1944, was a bleak day in the history of Cowansville. It was the day of the Fire, the worst ever to hit Cowansville. That Sunday morning, the flames swept a large section of Main Street. Not only did merchants suffered heavy losses but 15 families lost their home.

The fire that started around 9 o'clock in the basement of the Dominion Grocery Store caused $500,000. of damages. Building and businesses burned out in the fire were:

Robb Block

 ›The Robb Block. a four-storey building containing Robb's furniture store and general store, the E. C. Cadieux drugstore and 5 apartments.

 › The Arsenault Bros' shoe store.

 › The Eugene Boisvert Block housing the Dominion Store, the Quebec Liquor Store, Bonneau's Restaurant, several smaller businesses and 2 apartments. The other businesses included a Chinese laundry and the Choinière Beauty Salon.

 › A building containing the François Brault Drugstore and a jewellery store  operated by Wilfrid Bourgeois.

 › The E. Goyette building containing a dry goods store and an apartment.The E. Goyette building.

 › The dry goods store of Émile Bonnette.

 › The main office and front of the Johnson's Garage.

 › A building housing the offices of the dentist Julien Beaudry, the Bisaillon Meat Market, the Notary Fridolin Meunier's office and the Larocque Barber Shop.

The Windsor Café

 › Other business establishments gutted included the Cowansville Taxi Stand,

the office Mitch Bédard's Cowansville Taxi stand. In the background, we see the old Town Hall.of Dr. Mooney, the Windsor Café,the Choinière Barber Shop and the

tailor shop of Ed Cartier.

 

 

 

 

 

Looking west, between Main Street and the Yamaska River.