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The union built town in 1923.1923
Port Union
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This is how Port Union looked before the fire of 1945.3
Port Union Hotel before the fire of 19451943
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This is how the Hotel looked before the fire.5
Port Union before Holy Martyr's Church was built1922
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Holy Martyr's Anglican Church before the fire in 19451943
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This is how the Chruch of the Holy Martyrs looked before the fire.8
Trading Company before the fire of 1945. Drums of Molasses1928
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This is how the Fishermen's Union Trading Company Ltd., looked before the fire. Notice in the upper right hand corner the bow window which was Coaker's private office.10
Fire March 1, 19451945
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On Thursday, March 1st, 1945, at about 6 a.m. a fire broke out which in a matter of hours destroyed the main plant of the Fishermen's Union Trading Company Ltd., the Church of the Holy Martyrs, the Hotel and a duplex residence. Endless efforts on the part of the town's volunteer fire fighters, using a bucket brigade, stopped the blaze and the town, south of Bungalow Hill, was spared. A wind, blowing northwest, threatened the rest of the town, fortunately shortly after the fire the wind changed and turned to the southwest. Several small fires were started by flankers on the factory and the roofs of houses, but were promptly extinguished.12
During the fire1 March 1945
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Port Union since 1918 had been the commercial headquarters of the Fishermen's Union Trading Co., Ltd., (Trading Company) established by the Fishermen's Protective Union and its President, William Coaker. The Trading Company's main plant housed the offices of the Company, the wholesale, retail, and department stores, fish stores, drier, cooper loft, and large stocks of dry goods and provisions. A large quantity of dried codfish was in the fish stores at the time was destroyed. The main fish plant also housed the offices and stock rooms of the Union Electric Light and Power Company. The Machine Shop, located in the plant was destroyed.The Church of the Holy Martyrs, which was built in 1920, contained stained glass windows in memory of soldiers who fell in the First World War none of these windows were saved. The Port Union Hotel was also lost; the hotel had been home to delegates attending annual Union Conventions at Port Union. A double house, directly across from the bungalow (Coaker's residence) and above the hotel, caught fire but its owners were able to save most of their furniture.
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The day after the fire2 March 1945
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