On This Day in History: January 9
Fire at the Refinery
On Jan. 9, 1882, a spectacular fire destroyed Havemeyer & Elder in Williamsburg, at that time one of the nation’s largest sugar refineries. The fire left its 1,000 employees jobless.
The once gargantuan sugar industry in New York City had its beginnings in the late 1700s. The first sugar boiler began operation on Pine Street under the name of Edmund Seaman and Company.