The story
The hurricane of Sept. 16, 1928 was especially destructive and devastating to the little town of Stuart.
Many buildings, shops and homes were severely damaged or destroyed, including the city’s incinerator, located near Gaines Highway (Rt. 76, Kanner Hwy) and Monterey Road. This structure was necessary for converting resident’s garbage and trash into disposable ashes.
The hurricane blew the incinerator’s 40-foot brick lined stack to the ground and the nearby metal office building was almost obliterated.
The only part of the entire complex not damaged was the actual furnace.
City inspectors surveyed the situation in the weeks that followed, determining whether to attempt to rebuild or construct a completely new complex.
In November, it was decided the city incinerator would be rebuilt in the same location with brick.
Costing about $1,500, work was completed by late December.
A little known fact is that the incinerator, which had ceased being used by the city by 1955, would become the location of Stuart’s first Animal Rescue League, agreed and approved by the City in August of that year.
