The Placer herald., 1870-09-03
Z ENSIvE FIRE.

At about ten minutes after o'clock ON
Tuesday morning last, fire was discovered in
the wood and wood-shed of the C.P. R. r.
Company, and in the passenger depot and
saloon of Curley and Mahon, at Auburn de-
pot The flames had enveloped such an ex-
tensive portion of the wood shedding, omni-
bus line shedding and passenger depot build
ing, all wooden structures, at the time of
discovery that it was impossible to stay the
devouring element or even save the freight
depot of George Willment on the other side
of the track. All these as well as the fine,
large new hotel OF John j. Smith, his barn,
stablng, hay, feed, Crosby's blacksmith
shop, two lime houses, and the stablng,
shedding, ETC., attached to Wilson's hotel
were swept, with their contents, clear from
the face of the earth. By the exertions of
our town people who reached the scene of
conAagration as soon as possible after the
alarm was given, (the main portion of Au
burn is distant three-quarters of a mile from
the depot) Wilson's new hotel and Keelers
grocery building, the two farthest wooden
houses from the fire, in the course it swept,
were saved without very serious damage.
Curly's residence and Willment's stone store
house are safe and these and the above two
constitute all that is left of our hourishing
depot suberb. The Bear river ditch run
ming in front of Keeler's store and Wilson's
hotel aided greatly in saving these build
ings, indeed, in our opinion they could not
have been saved but for this close at hand
and abundant supply of water. After we
arrived at the fire there was nothing to be
fought for but these two buildings, some rear
fences and to stay the fire in the dry grass.
There was strong eastern wind during the
whole time of the fire, and the burning Gin
ders were carried over the main town and
set fire to dry grass in several lots fully a
half mile fom the burning buildings. The
charred cinders were strewn thickly all over
Auburn, and westward as far as Ophir, full
ly three miles distant, these cinders were
seen in plentiful numbers that morning
Three cars were on the track and would have
been burned but the breaks were cascd and
these cars were pushed down the track out
of danger. The rails and ties of the track
for some three hundred feet were burned,
warped, etc. so as to render them useless.
A freight train passed up the road and wood
ed at the point where the fire is supposed to
have started fifty minutes before the exten-
sive flames were discovered, and it is the
prevailing opinion that from this train the
fire was communicated to the dry pine wood.
We give below list of the losses by the
sufferers and the insurance as far and as
correctly as we could gather them.
John j. Smith lost his newly finished ho-
tel, $4, 800; new furniture, $l,370; other
furniture, 81 900; liquors and cigars, $3.50;
grocery supplies, 800; clothing, jewelry etc.
81 900; hay, sos; lumber in lumber yard,
$500; wood, S75; Barn, BAT; shedding in
hay yard, $500; fencing, chicken house etc.
5000. Total $3.50 Insured for 81 800.
George Willmcnt, Freight depot, scales,
trucks and goods and merchandise on hand,
loss, 50 500, insured for 81 200
Curley & Mahon, passenger depot, includ
ing dining-room, setting rooms, saloon, tick
ct office, telegraph office, etc, loss, SO 800;
insured for $4,000.
Wilson's Hotel, shedding, stabling, hay
yards and damage to house and furniture,
etc. loss, $500; fully insured.
Manning & Co., lime houses, $3.50 Nc
Neal lime etc, $75. McDonell merchant.
Forest Hill, nine tons of wheat, barley,
ground-feed, -four ETC., in depot, loss, 5000.
Peyton Powell, two tons of barley, $50
C.P.R.R. company, 800 cords of wood,
shedding water-tanks and damage to track,
loss about $4,000 Crosby's blacksmith
shop, $500. In addition to these, Burt &
Bro, of Bath, and other merchants and ship
pers lost small lots of goods in the depot
Total known losses $40, ,555; insurance, s.
200; leaving net known loss over insurance
of $11 1855. About fifty tons of goods
were removed from the FIRE; ;ght depot since
the arrival of Saturdays freight trains, which
would all have been burned had the fire oc-
Cured twenty-four hours sooner.