Wilmington daily gazette., 1873-02-18
A CRASH IN HOUSTON STREET.
Tie Fan ofAe Ne'o York Presbyterian Church
A Remarkable Coiscidsnce-AH AlEos. Mir
acuious Escape.

The Fan Of Me Ne,0 York Presbyterian Church
A Remarkable Coincidsnce--AH Alnos. Mir
acuious Escape.
The old brick church tn 1t had stood for nearly |
forty wears on the southwest corner of Houston |
aud ThompsOn streets, and known as the New |
York Presterian Church, fell IN with crash at
about twenty-five minutes past o'clock yesterday
afternoon. The Sexton, Joseph aFesr, who lived,
with his family, ln the rear Of the basement, ad
Joining the lecture room, ives in the act Of unlock
ing the front doors leading the lecture room. He
had lust got the doOl nearest to Houston street
opened aud admitted three little girls, boy, and
two men, when d rumbling noise was heard, ana
down fell the roof, throwing tho front walls on
both sides into the street In the sections apart
msnts mt the time were Mrs. Greer and her two
children and in the lecture room adjoining sever
| al men RAd women and two or three childIen.-
Several residents Of the neighborhood and Officer
Leamen hastened to rescue the inmates just as
they did so two of the men crawled out OF the
side window in Houston street, while the three
i little girls and the sexton escaped through the
trout door Happily nobody was seriously hurt.
A fire alarm was sounded, and soon the Fire
Department and police toTcs were On the spot7-
IL was ruInored that two men had been buried be-
meath the ruins on Houston street. The tremen,
under7Chief Engineer Perley, and the police, set
TO work to remove tho rubbish, anu after two
hours hard work. satisfied themselves that the ru-
NOR was untrue. u... -.
Mr.. Stephen Hough, who witnessed the fall, told
3 on the sidewalk on the Houston street side, and
when he looked up the roof was descending and
a the walls falling outward.
: Officer Leaman said that he heard the cracking
+ of the walls, and saw young woman Crosslni
: over 10 the church, and that be ran over and drag
n ged her away Just in time to save her life. HI
i only person hurt was little girl named Stewart
# who was struck by brick an the leg, which Ties
l. across the street. She was tlkeil TO her home
II Bedford street.
1f The edihce was built nearly forty years ago a
a free church. 1t, first pastor was the Rev. ID
l. Burchard. About eighteen years ago it was trans
Df ferred to the present congregation. OF which tn
D. Rev Mr.. Page is pastor. Mr.. Page had just lei
r the church, and had not got half block ava
re when it fell. The morning service was attends
h by about two hundred aud fifty peFsOns, aud cur
ously the pastors text was "kscape for thy life
IL Five large trees several street lamps, and wage
al that stood in Thompson street were utterly q
n molished, while both streets were piled up Wi
nj the ruins, stopping the cars. . ~
N. For long time the roof had been in a leal
tv condt on and the trustees had patched 1t, 1nste'
- OF putting on "A new roof, as they had been arg
W, to do Chief Engineer Psrsy says that the oeAE
10 OF the root al rottsd away where they set IN
vt walls amt that the heavy iall OF snow yesterd
~ morning was too much for the cTumbling STIR
st- a. turs.--X !. san, Of Monday. .s9.#