Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1876-04-13
THE BENWOOD MILL BURNED.
Twenty Thousand Kegs of Nails
Destroyed.
Heavy Loss to the Company and
Operatives.


Heavy Loss to the Company and
Operatives.
Over Four Hundred Men Out of
Employment.
From Wheeling Intelligencer of Thursday
A very destructive fire occurred at Benwood
last night, by which the large and valuable
property known as the Benwood Nail Works
was entirely destroyed. The property de-
stroyed consisted of two Nail factories, run
ming over a hundred machines, and Forge
department, running number of pudding
and heating furnaces, train of rolls and other
valuable machinery, and warehouse contain
ing several thousand kegs of nails.
The fire broke out about 10 o'clock around
the blueing machine, in the Northeast corner
of the mill, few shavings having taken fire
and communicated to the side of the building.
It's spread, from our accounts at midnight,
must have been very rapid, as in a few mo-
ments that part of the mill was in sheet of
flame. There was no time to give general
alarm until the whole builing was too far gone
to leave any hope of saving the establishment.
The employees were naturally concerned to
save their houses, and their contents, in the
immediate vicinity, and besides there were no
facilities beyond the buckets, always depend
ed en- heretofore, whsrewith to check the pro-
gress of the devouring element. In very
brief time, therefore, the two factories, the
Forge, and the Warehouse, were all in flames,
and at the end of one hour were all mass of
burning ruins.
The loss to the company will be heavy, in
asmuch as 10000 kegs of Nails were destroy
ed, worth at least 100000, on which there
was only partial insurance The mill is
probably pretty well insured, as the company
are in the habit of carrying pretty full line
The loss to the operatives will be disastrous
indeed. They lose their means of subsistence
for months to come, disaster that will fall
upon many of them with great severity.
Many of the operatives are stockholders.
The capital stock Of the company is $780,
900, and includes the property destroyed,
some sixty or seventy tenement houses, and
furnace at Martins Ferry. Their works at
Benwood represent say $3.50, 900 of their cap
ital, counting machinery of all sort. and
buildings Immediately connected with the
works.
Later-At 2 o'clock this morning we have
further advices from the fire. The insurance
on the mill, including nails stacked on the
floors, is 1000, and is very largely in for
eign companies-perhaps fully seven-eighths
of it. The wind seems to have been blowing
from the Southeast, inasmuch as neither the
cooper shops, blacksmith shop, nor Office, all
close by, were burned. The warehouse stands
sixty feet north of the upper factory and was
swept by the flames at an early period in the
confagrstion. About half the nails destroyed
surance on them. The loss will therefore be
total on 10000 kegs, say $4,000 The loss
on the mill is not now known, save as to the
nails stored in it. All depends on the condi-
tion in which the machinery will be left, and
this cannot be known for day or two. A
meeting of the Directors will take place this
evening, after which stockholders meeting
will no doubt be Immediately called and steps
taken to rebuild. The remaining property of
the company at Benwood depends largely for
its values on the rebuilding Of the works.
From Intelligencer of Friday.]
An attempt was made yesterday morning
to save part of the nails that were in the
Benwood factory and warehouse at the time
of the fire. The steamer United No. was
taken down and put to work upon the smould-
ering cmbers, and every effort made to save
those nails which could be converted into
scrap iron. The nails burned were about
10000 kegs of fine 3-penny, about IL, 1000 kegs
of common 3-penny, and the remainder casing,
fence, clinch, barrel, 7-penny, 6-penny COM
mon, 4-penny common, finishing nails, 6-inch
and 4-inch common spikes, boat spikes, etc.
The whole stock of nails was valued at about
100000. Of the furnace stacks there remain
about twenty-seven, three Of which are lean
during the fire. The large boilers are not ma
terially. The wooden arms of two of the three
big fy-wheels were destroyed, together with
the three pitmans. The engines are evidently
badly damaged, but the rolls appear to be I'M
hurt. The squeezers are apparently as good
as ever, and the boiling furnaces do not seem
to be injured greatly. Those Of the boiling
furnaces in which balls were left, however,
will probably have to be torn down and re-
built. There were one hundred and ten nail
machines in the factory, and as the floors
gave way the most of them fell into the cellar.
AS yet, of course, it is impossible to tell in
what condition they have been left. Theron
part of the ore-crusher is not materially in
jured, but the shearing machinery is consider
ably bent up.
1t is impossible as yet to estimate the actual
loss, but it is thought that the remaining prop
erty of the company is worth 100000 if they
decide to rebuild The mill cost $164, 500, in
1854, and the new factory about $4,000.
Added to this is the value of the nails on
hand, estimated at $50, 600, making total Of
! $500, 200.