In June 1859, Syarif Masahor, together with a "Kanowit" leader named "Sawing", and a number of Malay chiefs killed two Brooke government officials, Charles Fox and Henry Steele. During the last years of the Japanese occupation, the Kanowit bazaar was looted and burnt to the ground by some natives. In 1951, as the Korean war broke out, the Kanowit bazaar was overflowing with rubber sheets due to rise in rubber prices. However, on 8 November 1951, the bazaar was burnt to the ground due to a large fire. Construction of the shophouses were restarted from 1952 to 1953. However, several owners were unable to pay the mortgages owed to Chartered Bank in Sibu due to low collapsing rubber prices.