Dodgeville chronicle. [volume] (Dodgeville, Wis.) 1862-current, 1866-07-19
THE GREAT FIRE AT PORT
LAND.
Two Thousand Buildings Burned--.more
than Two Thousand Families made
Homeless---Ten Millions Dollars Horth
of Property Destroyed.

Portland Dispatch DULY 81 to the New YORK WOW
One of the most beautiful, it not lne
most beautiful, Of our smaller AIla.tto
Giles now lies in ruins. Portlano' WHILE
since the completion of the Grahu i[unA
Railroad, and the selection OF lts uople nar-
Dor as the winter terminus OF Inc Oanaoiaa
line of steamers TO Europe, has made such
rand strides in prosperity as to promise at
No distant day a serious rivalry with Boston
for the nrimacy Of commercial Importance
in New ENGLAND, has been visited in a sea-
son of profound peace, and on the anniver-
sarv Of our national independence, with
confagration so sweeping and tremendous
that it can be hkened only TO the desolation
by fire of some of our southern capitals IN
the very crisis and fury of the late war.
How the FIRE was communicated to the
small wooden building in which it seems to
have first broken out, has hardly yet become
a subject of conjecture. Some months ago
a mysterious individual was arrested here
shortly after fire had taken place in Free
street, who finally confessed that he had
come to Portland for the express purpose
of burning the city, and that he was the
author of the confagration which last year
laid waste the capital Of the State, Augusta,
a conhagration which, until this days sad
work was done, ranked first in the annals
Of our misfortunes of this kind. 1t is pos
sible that this last catastrophe may have
been the work of some such incendiary
madness; but more probable, perhaps, that
it is TO be carried to the account of the car
nival of fire and gunpowder with which 1t
is considered proper to celebrate the birth
day Of the nation. Whatever its origin, Its
extent-of which, unfortunately, we cannot
yet speak with precision, since the brave
fremen are still battling with the enemy,
and have not yet secured their Vlctory-ls
simply appalling. In less than twelve
hours one-third of the property OF this busy
and Furnishing city has been rolled up In a
scroll of fire and blown away in clouds OF
smoke Portland is divided into an upper
and lower town. On the high land to the
south and west stand the handsomest pri-
vate residences, and the most picturesque
streets of the city. Conspicuous among
these is the stately mansion of Mr.. John
Brown, the architectural pride Of Portland,
house literally set upon hill, and the
tower of which is the first object deserted
by the traveller coming from Boston on the
railway. From this mansion, proceeding
eastward as far as State street and Park
street, the former Of which, with its noble
rows of fine forest trees, is one Of the most
charming streets in America, extends the
richest "hOme quarter" of Portland, and
this region has happily been spared.
The fire began, as we have stated, below
the high lands to the eastward of the two
large stations of the Boston, Maine and
Eastern Railroad, which, together with the
Grand Trunk depots, and the most part Of
- l. .1al haup
escaped the flames. From the little boat
builders shop in which it originated, just
before sunset, il was communicated 10 the
splendid sugar house OF Mr. Brown, OF
whose residence we have already spoken as
the finest in the city. They constituted the
most extensive sugar works in New Eng
land, boiling over 10000 casks of rnolasses
annually. Solid and substantial as they
were, they had disappeared totally before
10 o'clock at night; and the wind, blowing
almost gale from the southwest, swept the
mighty mass of flame away from CONNER
cial street, and up towards the heart OF the
lower town. Exchange street, IN which
were situated the handsomest jewelers.
shops of the city, the newspaper buildings
four in number the Merchants news
room, and many Offices, public and private,
including the law office OF Senator Fessen-
den. and the British consuls office; Middle
street, from just below the United States
Hotel, down to Exchange street, with all
the banks in the clty-seven In number
the best retail shops, and number of
offices occupied by the leading members OF
the Portland bar; the handsome new custom
house, which contained the post office also;
the telegraph offices, situated at the corner
. Mi1Ala or dirQcflv
opposite the custom house-all were wrap
ped in homes as the fiery surges swept
steadily onward to the east and north.
The flames passed across, in the rear of
the United States Hotel, into Congress
street. destroying the buildings of the Port
land Natural History Society, and with
them its valuable collections, and, sorest
loss of all, perhaps, to the architecture of
the " Forest City," the new city and county
building, very handsome ediice, of hewn
stone and brick of which the people of
Portland were justly proud, claiming that
it ranked next after the new city hall OF
Boston, among the buildings of the kind in
New England. This fine structure was COM
pleted only two or three years ago, and was
believed to be so nearly fire proof that many
persons had sent their furniture and other
goods into it as the confagration went on,
hoping thus to save them. But all went to-
g.ther in the common ruin.
During the brief darkness of the summer
night, the spectacle presented by the cont1a-
grafton, as viewed from the upper part of
the city, was indescribably grand; but it is
not easy to indulge ones love of the pic
turesque in he presence of these smoking
ruins, which alone now represent what yes
terday stood forth as the accumulated re-
suits of human energy and enterprise, to
the estimated value of some Sl0,000,O 900.
Nearly 1000 families, and, it is computed,
from Z 600 to 5000 individuals in all, are
to day destitute and homeless, who in the
morning of yesterday constituted nearly
one-third of the population of one of the
most orderly, prosperous and industrious
cities in America. Eight churches, seven
hotels, every printing office capable of issu
ing newspaper, have vanished.
The behavior of the people has been be-
yond praise. Order has been preserved
throughout all these exciting hours, and the
inhabuants have Wed with each other, and
with the good people who from all the nelgh~
boring towns have hurried in TO the rescue,
IN their energetic efforts to maintain the
public peace and to put down the contagra-
ton.
The following is an approximate list of
the losses and insurance:
Carries Staples s. Son, machinist; loss
$40 600; insured for $4,000 in the Home,
N. Y, and Boston company.
Upham's Touring mill, loss 100000; in
sured for S. 600 in J W. Munger's agency.
n P Richardson s. Co.. stove foundry,
loss SOC, 600; insured $50 600.
The Press office, loss, $4,000; insured
for s. 500 in the international and Protec-
ton companies.
BROWN " Thnrstnn's lob Office loss $50.