A Period of Devastating Loss

Three major tragedies befell the city of Vincennes, Indiana in 1926, all taking place within the span of just two and a half months. On January 18, four city firemen were killed when their firetruck crashed on the way to a fire. Then, on February 6, the Burchfield Department Store burned, with the loss of three lives. Finally, on April 1, Vincennes Police Detective Simon Carie was gunned down on Main Street. For the first time, on the 100th anniversary of these shocking events, they are examined here in detail, revealing many facts that have never before been brought to light.

Brian Spangle, a Knox County, Indiana native, graduated from Indiana State University with a master’s degree in history in 1985. He was employed at the Knox County Public Library for thirty years, retiring from his position as historical collection administrator in 2016. Since then, he has continued to volunteer at the library. Spangle has written a weekly column on local twentieth century history for the Vincennes Sun-Commercial, since 1999. He is a member and past president of the Vincennes Historical & Antiquarian Society. He currently serves on the Vincennes Board of Cemetery Regents. In 2017, Spangle received the prestigious Hubert Hawkins History Award for distinguished service in local history from the Indiana Historical Society. In 2019, he was honored with the National Historic Preservation Recognition Award from the Francis Vigo Chapter, NSDAR, and in 2021 was the recipient of a “Leading Light in Indiana History Through Writing Award” from Hawthorne Publishing. He has given countless presentations on local history and genealogy to Vincennes and area organizations. This is Spangle’s fourth book. In 2015, he published Vincennes History You Don’t Know, followed by Hidden History of Vincennes & Knox County in 2020, and Lost Vincennes in 2023.