1877 U.S. Patent Office fire

The Patent Office fire of 1877 was the second of several disastrous fires in the history of the U.S. Patent Office. It occurred in the Old Patent Office Building in Washington, D.C., on 24 September 1877. Although the building was constructed to be fireproof, many of its contents were not; some 80,000 models and some 600,000 copy drawings were destroyed. No patents were completely lost, however , and the Patent Office soon reopened.

On 4 July 1836, the Patent Office became a separate organization within the Department of State under the Patent Act of 1836 . Henry Leavitt Ellsworth became its first commissioner. He immediately began construction of a new "fire-proof" building, which was not completed until 1864.

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