The Good Old Days: Freedom Magazine Presents The History of Clearwater, Florida Part IV

And Clearwater became “illuminated” in 1905 when an electric light franchise was granted to ice-maker J.N. McClung.

Between the coming of the telephone and electricity, Clearwater citizens organized the Ladies Improvement Society and paved some of the streets.

A place for recreation and enjoyment came also, in the form of a large pier and two-story pavilion, erected in 1902 at the foot of Cleveland Street, with a park and benches on the nearby waterfront.

The Clearwater Pythian Band formed in 1908 with 22 members, led by F.W. Craven, as residents looked forward more and more to entertainment during their non-working hours. Photos from the period show an idyllic time—truly “the good old days.”

Photographs
The Big Fire of 1910 led to the formation of Clearwater’s first fire department the following year, with Ora S. Hart serving as fire chief. Soon after, the city purchased needed fire-fighting equipment and retired the bucket brigade.

Disaster struck in 1910, when, in the early morning of June 24, residents were frantically awakened after a fire broke out on the north side of Cleveland Street between Fort Harrison and Osceola Avenues. The Big Fire of 1910, as it was known, made the frailty of wooden structures obvious to all and destroyed the entire block of buildings despite courageous efforts by citizens and their bucket brigade.

The fire led directly to the formation of the town’s first fire department in 1911, with Ora S. Hart serving as fire chief. And in 1914, the city purchased all the needed and appropriate fire equipment.