— Editor’s note: This year, Yelm will celebrate the 100th anniversary of the city’s official incorporation, which took place on Dec. 8, 1924. Every month in 2024, the Nisqually Valley News will present an aspect of the city’s history since its incorporation. The significance of the May 1924 fires and their impact on Yelm’s incorporation are the focus of the first volume of this series.
Fires in Yelm’s business district in the spring of 1924 were responsible for the city’s eventual incorporation that same year.
The first fire started at the Wilson Hotel on May 24, 1924, but the story of how it started differs. The May 29, 1924, edition of the Nisqually Valley News reported that a defective flue was responsible, while locals claimed that it started on a couch on the porch of the hotel. Firemen from Tacoma, Camp Lewis and Olympia responded to calls as Yelm did not yet have a fire department.
Miss Marie Fisher, a telephone operator, sent out calls to surrounding cities for aid while the telephone office caught fire and many of her and her mother’s personal belongings burned around her. Resident Pat Murphy entered the burning building to rescue Fisher, but he was overcome by the flames and smoke and was rescued after fainting.
The fire virtually devastated Yelm’s entire business district and resulted in an estimated loss of $130,000, according to the week’s newspaper. That amounts to approximately $2.2 to $2.3 million in current dollars. A second blaze the following morning dismantled the office of the Yelm irrigation district. The May 25 fire was believed to have started in the irrigation district office from a spark blown to the roof the night prior. Combining the two fires, 21 buildings were destroyed and three were partially ruined.
Numerous businesses were wiped out across the weekend’s fires, including the Wilson Hotel, Yelm Mercantile Co., New Method Repair Shop, Yelm Barber Shop, H.L. Wolf & Co. and the Nisqually Valley News office.
Unlike the exact cause of the fires, the impact on Yelm’s future was not up for debate. The Yelm Women’s Civic Club pushed for incorporation to allow for the construction of a water system, among other necessities. After all, the 1924 fire was not the first of its kind in Yelm; the city also suffered damages from major blazes in 1908 and 1913. A special election was held on Dec. 6, 1924, after a petition to incorporate was filed. In the election, a total of 120 people voted: 72 in favor of incorporation and 48 opposed.
R.B. Patterson was elected the first mayor; Chauncy Groyer was elected treasurer; and five city council members were elected. Incorporation papers were filed with the secretary of state on Dec. 8 and announced in The Seattle Times the following day.
The city was rebuilt, but this time under the direction of architects and city engineers. One of Patterson’s first tasks as mayor was to establish a fire department and create a water system. In 1927, Yelm had one fire chief, Ed Brown, one 30-gallon soda acid fire extinguisher, several hydrants, about 300 feet of hose and some volunteer firefighters.
The Yelm Women’s Civics Club, led by President Anna Coates, worked on the laying of street crossings and sidewalks, as well as the installation of fire extinguishers, street lights, road signs and more.
The changes in the city’s first years of incorporation were crucial in building today’s Yelm. Many of the city’s current buildings along Yelm’s main streets were built after the blaze. Numerous local businesses, including the Nisqually Valley News, built more modern, fireproof buildings made of concrete and tile that would withstand any potential conflagrations. The town’s rebuild took months, as many businesses were up and running again by the end of 1924.
