exchange and three or four vessels lying at the wharf's on South Street were destroyed." A report from London gave a colorful account of the damage, praising the resilience of the population: A most awful conflagration occurred at New York on the 15th of December, by which 600 buildings were destroyed, comprising the most valuable district of the city, including the entire destruction of the Exchange, the Post Office and an immense number of stores. The fire raged incessantly for upwards of fifteen hours. The shipping along the line of wharfs suffered considerably; several vessels were entirely destroyed. The property consumed is estimated at 20,000,000 dollars. In the midst of this terrible visitation, however, it is consolatory to see the elastic energy of the people. Instead of wasting their time in despondency over this frightful desolation, the whole population seems on the alert to repair the mischief. Reconstruction Recovery meant improved buildings, which would require financing. Negotiations were swiftly undertaken, and the cooperation of banks was crucial in preventing an economic disaster. A London magazine wrote, "Plans of rebuilding on an improved scale and modes of borrowing money for that purpose, on sound securities, are under arrangement. The energy of the inhabitants and the ready manner in which the banks had offered to make advances to the different insurance companies, as well as to private individuals, would avert, it was expected, a commercial crisis." The destroyed wooden buildings were quickly replaced by larger stone and brick ones that were less prone to burning. The fire also prompted construction of a new municipal water supply, the Old Croton Aqueduct, and a reform and expansion of the fire service. The fire bankrupted several insurance companies, slowing the processing of claims; 23 of New York's 26 insurance companies went out of business, and Hartford, Connecticut-based insurers (led by the Hartford Fire Insurance Co.) came to dominate the New York fire insurance market. Today, Hartford is still known as the "Insurance Capital of the World." Bibliography Levy, Daniel S. (2022) Manhattan Phoenix: The Great Fire of 1835 and the Emergence of Modern New York , Oxford University Press, ISBN 978-0-19-538237-2 See also Great Fire of New York (1776) Great New York City Fire of 1845 Great Fire of London Great Fire of Brisbane Great Chicago Fire Great Fire of Turku References External links "Chapter 18: The Great Conflagration of 1835", History of the Fire