The Eaton Democrat. (Eaton, Ohio) 1875-1903, 1877-10-04
Disastrous Fire at Washington.
Burning of the United States Patent Ohice
Most oft Models Destroyed-Many Inn
pOrfnnt Records Damaged or Missing.

Most OF the Models DeAtrOye0-uany lIn-
pOrtnnt Records Damaged or Missing.
A disastrous fire broke out in the build
ings of the Interior Department, commonly
called the Patent Office, on Monday fore
noon. The great buildings, covering two
blocks, were substantially built, of solid
masonry, but above the ceiling of the
museum, which occupies the upper floor,
were merely light timber supports and
rafters covered with wood, the whole as dry
as finder. Over this was spread the copper
sheets of the roof. Between the roof and
ceiling of the museum, a good many rooms
had heen divided off from this long low attic,
and in these many ranges of pine shelves
had been erected, and these were filled with
some eighty tons of photolithographs of
~engravings.
The fire originated from spontaneous COM
bustion among a lot of nOn-patented chemi-
cal material stored in the attic on the Ninth
Street front, which communicated to wooden
structures supporting the roof, and before
the fact that the building was on fire was
known to half the inmates of the
building, the flames were bursting from the
roof of the entire west front, and fifteen
minutes later had broken through the slight
ceiling, and were burning ~furiously along
the whole long double line of model cases
in that corridor of the museum. The sight
of the building at the time caused an ex-
preston of absolute establishment on the
faces of the immense crowd that had
gathered to see what all believed to be a
solid marble structure blazing furiously,
with an immense column of black smoke
rolling above the white walls. 1t vas a
sight which almost discredited the evidences
of the senses.
The flames first appeared in the conserva.
tory near the roof, and there was an i'm.
mense number of rejected models packed in
the attic above the model room. 1t is be.
lieyed spontaneous combustion there caused
the ~cOnflagration.
Most of the damage was confined to the
upper stories. Several fire companies from
Baltimore reached Washington in less thar
an hour after being called on, and rendered
yaluable assistance.
The number of models is variously es
timated at from So 600 to $4,000. A number
of the more important were on exhibition
and storage in the west hall, which, with
the north hall, was completely wrecked ant
the roofs burned.
The loss in rejected models will be very
great to the Government.
In the Patent Office Building are all tn,
Offices subordinate to the Interior Depart
ment, except the Pension Office. The Lane
Office, Patent Office, and Indian Ofict
suffered by the mixing of documents in tn,
effort to save them.
The original copy of the Declaration o
Independence and relics of General Wash
ington were saved, as was also the Ffanklil
printing press. Nearly oil the specification
and original drawings of the Patent Ofic
are safe, and from these models can be repro
puced if necessary.
The damage to the building is v~ariousl,
estimased at from 100000 to $780, 900, Will
that growing out ofthe destruction ofmodel
and other valuables belonging to the Paten
Office will be almost ~incalculable. TIL
arches which formed the ceiling of tn
second story, and upon which the third stor
rested, are so badly damaged by heat an
water that many of them must be torn dowr
The marble of the outer walls is considei
ably discolorad by the flames, and cracke
in many places.
1t is supposed that the fire had been smolC
ering beneath the roof, which is not fireproo
for some hours before it was discovered.
Two or three fires occurred the neighbo
hsod of the Patent Office, caused by sparl
! from that building.