Skip to main content
RETURN TO Return to WETA website Donate
Boundary Stones logo

Main navigation

  • Washington, D.C.
  • Maryland
  • Virginia
  • Video
  • About
DC

The Patent Office Fire of 1836

01/31/2017 in DC by Richard Brownell
  • Share by Facebook
  • Share by Twitter
  • Share by Email
Patent Office in 1855 after it was rebuilt. (Source:  Cliff - Flickr: The Patent Office, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=17697085)
Following a fire on December 15, 1836 the U.S. Patent Office had to be rebuilt. This Edward Sachse & Co. chromolithograph from c. 1855 shows the new building. (Source: By Cliff - Flickr: The Patent Office, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=17697085)

American commerce and invention suffered a terrible blow on December 15, 1836, when the U.S. Patent Office caught fire. The office, which was located in Blodget’s Hotel on E Street NW between 7th and 8th Streets, shared its space with the U.S. Post Office and a branch of the local fire department, of all things.

Congress authorized the Patent Office to be located at Blodget’s in 1810 along with a branch of the Post Office. In a twist of historical irony, the building was one of the few government offices to be spared the torch when the British burned the capital in 1812.

In the early morning hours of December 15, as Post Office workers wrapped up their long workday, they gathered the ashes from the stoves and placed them in a wooden box in a basement room that also stored firewood for the adjacent Patent Office. Live embers among the ashes continued to smolder until they burned through the box and lit up the stored firewood.

Blodgett's Hotel (Source: Library of Congress)
From 1810-1836, the U.S. Patent Office sat within Blodgett's Hotel. (Source: Library of Congress)

Smoke was spotted around 3 a.m. shortly before the fire became critical. Unfortunately, the neighboring fire department was of no value. “There was a fire-engine house at the northeast corner of Blodgett's Hotel, complete with a fire engine purchased by act of Congress 16 years earlier,” points out author Kenneth Dobyns. “When it was built, a volunteer fire company was formed to man the engine, but the members became discouraged and disbanded.”[1]

When it came to fighting the flames, all the local citizens could do was form a bucket brigade, which proved no match for a fire that had spread throughout the three-story structure.

No one was injured, but the losses proved more than the city or the nation could bear. An estimated 7,000 models, 9,000 drawings of pending and patented inventions, and the file histories of thousands of patents that had been granted in the previous 46 years were destroyed.[2] Post Office employees were able to save their documents since they were stored at the other end of the building.

Congress investigated the cause of the fire as there were widespread accusations of arson. Dobyns writes that, “the Post Office Department was currently under investigation for awarding dishonest mail contracts, and Congress was having difficulty obtaining the proper records from the Post Office.”[3]

But since the Post Office was able to save their documents, and the Patent Office, which was not under investigation, lost theirs, the arson theory was disproved. It was soon evident that the poor storage of stove ashes was to blame.

On March 3, 1837, a Congressional act was passed to provide $100,000 to repair and rebuild the pre-fire patent collection.[4] Only a small percentage of the patents were restored, but the next Patent Office location was designed to be more fire retardant than its predecessor.

Footnotes

  1. ^ Kenneth Dobyns, “The Patent Office Pony: A History of the Early Patent Office,” Sergeant Kirkland's Press, Washington, D.C., 1994, p. 106. http://www.myoutbox.net/popch17.htm
  2. ^ Kim Byars, “December 15th Marks the 165th Anniversary of The Great Patent Office Fire of 1836,” December 14, 2001, United States Patent and Trademark Office, https://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/com/speeches/01-60.htm
  3. ^ Dobyns, “The Patent Office Pony: A History of the Early Patent Office,” p. 108. http://www.myoutbox.net/popch17.htm
  4. ^ “The Story of the United States Patent Office, 1790-1956,” United States Patent Office, Washington, D.C., 1956, p. 7.
Last Updated:
11/29/2020

About the Author

Richard Brownell is the author of numerous books for young audiences on historical and cultural topics. He also writes political commentary and has had his stage plays produced in several cities around the country. He currently resides in New York City, but his home is wherever history has been made. Richard has been an avid reader, researcher, and writer of American history much of his life, and he is always sure to soak up historical sites and stories wherever his travels take him.

More posts by Richard Brownell »
Tags
1830s

Share

  • Share by Facebook
  • Share by Twitter
  • Share by Email

You Might Also Like

  • A Congressional Beating: Sam Houston and William Stanbery

    A Congressional Beating: Sam Houston and William Stanbery

    Think Congress can't get along now? On April 13, 1832, Sam Houston beat fellow congressman William Stanbery with a cane on Pennsylvania Ave.

  • Eli Nugent's Asbury Chapel

    Eli Nugent's Asbury Chapel

    When Eli Nugent witnessed the segregation of his fellow Black worshippers, he decided to found his own church

  • The Petticoat War

    You’d better believe there have been "mean girls" since the beginning of time, or at least the early 1800’s. Just ask Peggy Eaton.

Surprise Me!

Not sure where to start reading? Let us pick a story for you!

Categories

  • DC (575)
  • Maryland (108)
  • Virginia (150)

Latest Posts

This House, Undivided: Sarah Tracy’s Mount Vernon During the Civil War

06/02/2023

This House, Undivided: Sarah Tracy’s Mount Vernon During the Civil War

The Sordid Story of Dupont Circle's Underground Tunnels

05/26/2023

The Sordid Story of Dupont Circle's Underground Tunnels

Iconic Washington, D.C.

05/12/2023

Iconic Washington, D.C.

Most Popular

This House, Undivided: Sarah Tracy’s Mount Vernon During the Civil War

06/02/2023

This House, Undivided: Sarah Tracy’s Mount Vernon During the Civil War

The Sordid Story of Dupont Circle's Underground Tunnels

05/26/2023

The Sordid Story of Dupont Circle's Underground Tunnels

The Legend of the Bunny Man

10/31/2012

The Legend of the Bunny Man

Tags

1860s1870s1890s1900s1910s1920s1930s1940s1950s1960s1970s1980s1990sAlexandriaArlingtonArtBlack HistoryBygone DCCivil WarGeorgetownSports HistoryWhite HouseWomen's HistoryWorld War IWorld War II
More
Historical D.C. Metro Map
Tweets by BoundaryStones
WETA

Footer menu

  • Support WETA
  • About WETA
  • Press Room
  • Contact Us
  • Newsletter
  • RSS
  • Accessibility

Contact Us

  • 3939 Campbell Avenue
    Arlington, VA 22206 | Map
  • 703-998-2600
  • boundarystones@weta.org

Connect with us

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

About Boundary Stones

Boundary Stones explores local history in Washington, D.C., suburban Maryland and northern Virginia. This project is a service of WETA and is supported by contributions from readers like you.

DONATE

Copyright © 2023 WETA. All Rights Reserved.

Bottom Footer

  • Terms
  • Privacy
  • Guidelines