RIGBY - It was a cold and windy Sunday morning nearly 100 years ago when one of Rigby's most popular businesses was destroyed in a massive fire. It was 1926, the height of one of the most prosperous decades in the nation's history. On the corner of State and Main in Rigby was a three-story building that housed one of the largest department stores in eastern Idaho.
"It was said to have everything, clothing and hardware," Rigby resident and historian Pat Scott tells EastIdahoNews.com.
The Quality Store, as it was known to locals, was a popular shopping destination for residents of Rigby and surrounding communities because of the wide selection of products that were available.
On Saturday night, March 25, the shop closed after another week of business, as usual. But the following day, a dramatic turn of events brought an unexpected end to the city's most popular business. On March 26, 1926, the Quality Store caught fire.
"It started in the rear and quickly spread from the basement to the roof," Scott says. "It was fanned by 50 mile an hour winds, and within 30 minutes, the entire structure was engulfed in flames."
Weather conditions made the fire grow quickly. That's when Russell Bates, the fire chief at the time, and his crew sprang into action. Firefighters from neighboring counties were called to assist because the flames were so big.
"Just a day before, Jack Oram had opened a modern bowling alley in the west end of the building at a cost of $100,000," Scott writes in her history book about Rigby.
It wasn't long before the fire started to spread to the Royal Theater next door to the west. Lines of hose along the roof and walls allowed firefighters to contain the fire and save the theater, but the Quality Store was ultimately destroyed.
No one was in the building when the fire started, but details surrounding the cause are not available. Scott says it was most likely an accident that could have originated from a lighted cigarette, trash, or a stove that was left on.
"It was such a hot fire, I don't know if they ever found the source," says Scott.
Whatever the cause, no injuries were reported. But the loss of the building was devastating and left a huge impact.
"This fire would scar the community for a number of years since the Quality Store was never rebuilt," Scott writes.
In later years, the site would become home to Walker's Cafe, and more recently, Me'n Stans restaurant. Fire would strike this same intersection again more than 50 years later.
The heroic efforts of firemen prevented flames from damaging The Royal Theater that day in 1926, but on March 13, 1979, the old theater caught fire and burned down the night before a scheduled reopening after a renovation project.
Like the Quality Store, details about the cause are not available. No one was injured, but the loss of the 60-year-old building was devastating for many locals and marked the end of an era.
From that blustery day in 1926 to today, fire has played a prominent role in Rigby's development. The Rigby Tabernacle, the old junior high, Jefferson County Bank, and Riverside Gardens are just a few of the buildings from Rigby's past that no longer exist because of major fires.
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