Cedar Falls gazette. [volume] (Cedar Falls, Iowa) 1860-1895, 1871-10-27
THE GAZETTE.

- I1I AAxAG - - Ii
CEDAR FALLS. OCTOBER 27 1871.
WHAT REMAINS OF THE CITY.
A City Of Over $4,000 Still Ii. Rxis.
tense--An Hxast 1tat6uasef - 1hc
Numhef u lns1l& &laes 1IDs1rSye 80
What We kase tAat MA NOT Exist
For the last week, our thoughts
have been 80 busted with what .was
destroyed by the great fire, that we
have paid no attention whatever to
that which remained. So great were
our losses. so immense. the dcstruc-
tion In buildings and In other prop
erty, that we, could at hrst think
only OF that and did not have tho
heart To gather together tho relics OF
the city. and eatfmatS their value.--
But - man. after he 10 fully con-
vinced that II Is useless 70 weep over
his destroyed house, sets To work to
dig In the ruins. and draws comfort
and satisfaction from every articls
that he extracts therefrona, though
IL be in q somewhat damaged condi-
ton, 20 we, the flfst shock once over,
catalogue what we have saved, and
find that Chicago Is yet . city. with
more Of the elements of material
prosperity by far. than she had ten
years ago, and that her losses are not
frreparable, % long 40 that energy
and determination which bnilt those
costly edifices and planed and carried
out these astonishing improvements
remain undismayed and injured.
The total area Of the city of Chi.
cago. including the annexed serrito-
ry west or Westera avenue, and also
including streets, ETC.. is over 2S0OO
acres. OF this the South Division
embraces .. .s6s, and the North Divis-
ion 2.53SA. The total number OF
buildings In the city was about 90,
600. Of which about 1900 were on
the south, and II, 500 on the north
side OF the river, the best and cost
lest 1.-The ones In which the citizens
Of Chicago took the most pride--be-
ing in the south Division and north
OF Jackson street. On the North
Side there were many elegant DWELL
ing houses, bat they were nearly all
east Of Wells street and north OF
North avenue, those lying near the
river, on Bremen, Wesson, Larrabee
and other streets, being of very i'm
ferior class. There were also large
sections on The North Side In which
there were no housess The district
between the North Bsanch and the
Ogden Canal, on one side. and Lin
coin Park and the old . cemetery on
the other. were unoccupied, and
there was much vacant ground fur.
ther up on the North branch. 5f
On the South Side the fire destroy
ed nearly everything In the First
and Second Wards, and 2 light por,
tion in the northwest corner Of the
Third. Its southern limit on Michi-
gan avenue was Congress street; ON
Clark. Harrison, and on Wells street
. point . little below Polk. The
ares Of the burnt district 10 $50 acres.
There were destroyed s,60o build
ings, Including 1900 stores. % hotels,
and 60 manufacturing establishments
and n 800 persons were turned ont
of their homes. the greater number
of whom liTed In the Second Ward,
west Of State street, whore they were
closely packed. The residents In the
First Ward generally lived In hotels
or furnished rooms. except In the
western portion Of the ward, where
many poorer families were congre-
gated.
On the North Side 1900 acres were
burned over out Of the $500 in that
leaving intact q small por>
tion on KiEzie street near the river,
and several houses north of Division
and west Of Orchard, including some
of the better settled districts up Cly-
bourne avenue. The total number
of buildings destroyed was 10, 600, In
cluding over six hundred stores and
one hundred manufacturing estab-
ments. About 10000 persons were
deprived or homes. and lare sojourn-
ing on the West Side, or have left
the city, Out Of population Of IT..
600 only about 1000 have houses
which they can clsim a. their own,
and there are not over 600 houses LEFT
standing, for the district burned over
embraced most Of the settled area Of
the North Division.
While the smount Of ground burnt
over in the West Division was not
great--not much exceeding 100 acrss
land while much Of that was occu.
pied by lumber yards, ETC., yet the
people who did live there were very
closely packed together, and between
one and two thousand people must
have dwslt there. = The value OF the
houses destroyed was comparatively
light. they being nearly al frame
buildings.
II appears. then, that out Of the
&C. 600 buildings In Chicago. only
about $500 have been Destroyed.
and that while $1,000 persons have
been driven from their homes, over
245. 900 have not been affected In that
way. The whole immense aEeA sg
tho WEST Division, with ~ miiss ii
dwelling houses. stores and business
blocks, is almost intact, while ths
South Side retains the great mass
Of it, ,dwslliDg houses Of the latter
class, many manufactories. and ths
fins business blocks which hats lbssn
erected on Twenty~seoond street end
Archer avenue, and Ct other points.
many Of its finest churches. and the
innumerabIe nnauufActoriss which
abound In the Sixth Ward. eaa
When the smoke Of the flre had
cleared sway. and psOpls. began to
look about them, they were surprised
to sse Whit thay never observed ~.
fore. the number Of fine blocks in
the West Division and the central