The fire of August 5, 1860, in Henderson, Texas, was seen as the beginning of the end of the Union in Texas. Henderson was one of the most important cities in Texas as a successful agricultural and commercial center. During the extremely hot summer of 1860, fires erupted across Texas, and Texans grew fearful and angry that northern abolitionists and slaves were burning their towns. After the Henderson fire destroyed the entire business district, people across the state were ready to fight for their way of life. The fire was argued to have ignited Texan secession. By September 1860, news of the Henderson fire had spread across the country from New York City to San Francisco. In Henderson, fifty-two citizens were chosen to investigate the fire, and they hanged Green Herndon and his female slave for setting it, although evidence of guilt or innocence is unknown. Louis T. Wigfall quickly used the fire to rally Texans to secession. Leaders such as Sam Houston could not resist what was called the secession flood in Texas, and Texas delegates, including Rusk County’s Malcom D. Graham, drafted the state’s formal Declaration of Causes for Secession. Graham blamed the fire on northern abolitionists and their political allies. The delegates approved Graham’s declaration and, in compiling a chronology of events leading to secession, placed the burning of Henderson first as the end of the Union in Texas.