The Tiffin tribune. (Tiffin, Ohio) 1868-1887, 1869-08-27
LOCAL CORRESPONDENCE.
REPUBLIC NEWS.
The Great Fire In Republic
Thirteen Buildings Burned.

5 q hiSitCh lhC NllldSc VI IbtpuUlll
occurred on the morning of Friday
August Goth. The alarm was frs
given about quarter before one
O'Clock and in two hours and hal
thirteen buildings, embracing large
warehouse, nine business rooms, a
shoe shop, harness shop, tailor shop.
jewellers shop, doctors office, Mason
lie, Odd Fellows and Good Templars'
Lodges, were in ruins. When first
discovered the fire was in the store
room and warehouse adjacent own
ed by the R. R. Co. and occupied
by Paul Bollinger with a stock of
groceries, boots and shoes, ready
made clothing and liquors, and had
already made considerable headway.
The cry of "fre" rang through
the still air of the night arousing
the people from their slumbers, who
rallied to the rescue, but too late to
prevent a general confagration of
all the buildings in the Immediate
vicinity of its origin. The whole of
the large warehouse was soon roar
ing and raging with flames which
burst fercely from the windows
and roof, sending their fiery fangs
into the buildings to the north and
east of it, almost simultaneously
igniting frame building few rods
to the northwest formerly dwell
ing, but OF late used by Mr.. Boiling
er as an ice house, a one story build
ing directly north owned by c.
Mansfelt and occupied by W. P.
Thatcher, ,shoemaker,and E. Wilcox,
harness maker; the depot building
owned by the R. R. Co., and occu-
pied by J. Freeze tailor, p. Reif,,
jeweler, c. 7. Reiff, Physician, and
the Masonic Lodge; and a two
story building south of the depot,
owned by the Masons, ,and known as
the old Rail Road House, unOccu-
pied. The two latter being situated
on the east side of Broadway nearly
opposite the warehouse. In ten
minutes from the first alarm all the
buildings mentioned were wrapped
in flames.
On the south of the warehouse
building, and separated only by an
alley twenty feet in width, was the |
old Hendel tavern building, owned !
by Mrs. Hendel, occupied by ]. E.
Charles as a grocery, and the barn
in the rear occupied by Clark Cook;
next south and adjacent to the
tavern building was q two story
frame building with three business
rooms, also owned by Mrs. Hendel,
the first room occupied by Run
MONS beer saloon, the second by
J. B. Writer'S grocery, and the
third unoccupied. The fire work
ing against a gentle southwest
breeze progressed more slowly in
this direction, giving the occupants
of the rooms beyond, little time to
remove their goods, but like some
huge monster deyouring or tramp
ling under foot all before it, roofs
and timbers vanished in flames and
smoke, or crumbled into ashes. The
Hendel buildings and W.P. Thatch-
er's unoccupied store room to the
south of them shared the same fate.
Next CAME Ii two story frame bull
ling owned by E. S. Chittenden
and occupied by him as a Drug and
Grocery store. Here a slight in
crease of the wind famed the flames
nto q parfoot furor. Adjoining
IN the south was E. T. Stickney's
occupied in the first story !
,y Hall & Childs as a Drug and
Grocery store and Meat market, and
n the second story by the Odd
Fellows and Good Templars' Lodge 5
oom. From this the fire commu-
heated across a space of twelve
eet to the store building owned
" G. NJ. Ogden, and occupied by II.
J. Ogden, dealer in Dry Goods and
general merchandise, and from that ,
o an unoccupied two story build G
ng on the south of it owned by
(, A. Lapham. This completed '
he destruction of all the buildings !
rom the Neikirk House to- the |
public Well corner, the distance (
# square, besides the ice house !
nd the two buildings on the east t
ide of the street. While this was q
n progress the buildings in the op- s
,osite side of Broadway and Kill G
,ourne streets occupied by the q
}humasero Drug store, Bergder- t
er's Grocery, DR.. Spooner's Office, |
he Post Office, Lumbar's Tin shop t
nd Meyers Harness shop were v
leaned of their contents and were 2
My saved from what appears to v
,e certain destruction by the great fl
st exertion. The Neikirk House /
vas badly scorched and the roof a
'urned in several places. Bar t
ow's building, occupied by WOm- v
ner & Grosscup, Bartow's Hotel, 4
nd several dwellings were fire. c
Iuently fired by the stream of live t
oals that poured over the northern s
Dart of the town. At one time it h
vas feared that half the town would
,e laid in ashes. Many families I
leared their houses, while others 7
,acked up their most valuable 4
,oOds ready to move on short no t
ice. The entire population of the @
own were on duty, either in guard 9
ng their own houses or working at c
he scene of the fire and we ven ]
ure to assert that no equal num-
'er Of men unaccustomed to fires, q
nd without any kind of apparatus
Ould have worked more efficiently .
han the men of Republic did on /
hat occasion. The ladies too, /
worked bravely, saving goods, q
lrawing and carrying water and 7
n some instances climbing the lad j
Iers with their pals like trained f
iremen. The ruins have since ]
'een visited by hundreds of people /
rom the surrounding country. The '
'rigin of the fire is entirely un- L
,nown, and ell efforts TO account C
or it is mere conjecture, but it is