1917 Atlanta Fire
A Man in FullThe 1917 Atlanta fire is recalled as a force that reshaped Black settlement in Atlanta: after it destroyed much of Sweet Auburn, Alonzo Herndon’s imposing home helped draw middle-class Black residents to Vine City.
Destruction and Displacement
The fire destroyed a substantial part of Sweet Auburn. The account does not detail the blaze itself or identify particular victims; its significance here lies in the movement that followed the destruction.
Herndon’s House and Vine City
Alonzo Herndon, born enslaved, went on to create the country’s second-largest Black-owned insurance company. His mansion in Vine City became a prominent example that attracted middle-class Black residents to the neighborhood after the fire. The recollection connects the disaster not only to loss in Sweet Auburn but also to the changing geography of Black Atlanta.
