Watertown Fire of 1848
Quoted from Hough's History of Jefferson County (1854):
On the 22nd of March, 1848, a 3 o'clock a.m., a fire occurred in an old stone shop, in the rear of the Union Mills, and a little above, which spread rapidly to the buildings on the island opposite (Beebee's Island), and to others above, which, with the bridge, were rapidly consumed; and two men, named Leonard Wright and Levi Palmer, perished in the flames, having entered a woolen mill for the purpose of rescuing property. Among the buildings burned, were the paper mill of Knowlton & Rice, the cabinet factory of Mr. Patridge, occupied by W. Conkey, a row of mechanics shops on the island.