Fireworks at a picnic result in most of the town of Denton, Maryland burning to the ground
Firework celebrations for Independence Day touched off disaster in Denton, Maryland, when balls of candlewick and kerosene thrown during a picnic landed in the second storey of a store building. The fire spread through the town and newspaper reports stated that the entire business section of the small town had burned to the ground. No injuries were reported but score of people were described as homeless and destitute. (By John Osborne)
Source Citation
"Denton, Md., Burned to Ashes," New York Times, July 9, 1865, p. 8.