The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1877-06-26
ANOTHER BLAZE.
BUSINESS PORTION OF MAR
BLEHEAD DESTROYED,
SEVENTY DWELLING HOUSES
BURNED.
Only Three Out of Fifteen Shoe
Factories Left.

in small shed IN the rear or the Eastern depot
and spread very rapidly. Seventy buildings
lshments, the depot, six passenger cars, one
hotel and one church. The Marblebead fire
department, comprising one steam and two
hand engines, was totally unable to cope with
the flames, and aid was asked of Boston, Sa.
lem and Lynn. 1t is stated that the fire had
its origin in the stable of the Hathaway House
and is believed to have been incendiary. All
the large shoe factories but three are now in
ruins. These were mostly large wooden
buildings filled with machinery and furnish
ing employment to hundreds of men and wo-
men who will now be thrown out of employ
ment. Over 40 dwelling houses were consum-
ed and the occupants saved but small portion
of their furniture. Many families saved only
the clothes they put on to escape from the
burning buildings.
Washington street, the street of the shops, is
long and the stores had shabby, unprosperous
look. The fire spread over Sewall, School and
Springs, and finally got back to Pleasant street
where, in DR.. Wketmore's barn, it was finally
and the fire was out at s o'clock. One of the
difficulties in fighting the fire was the insult.
fciency of the water supply, the main reservoir
having been rendered inaccessible by the
flames The principal buildings ruined were
the South church, Rechabite Hall and A'lerton
commit depredatons and as a precautionary
measure the military were ordered out on
guard.
The following boot and shoe manufacturers
were burned out: Cropley & Marrol, Eli "
Bartlett & Co; Wormsted & Woodfn; William
Stevens, Jr., (house and factory) Joshua Le-
favor, (house and factory;) Jonathan Orne &
Green; Bartlett 81 DOak; Samuel Crowell;
Jonathan Brown; William Lafavor, thouse
and factory.) Joseph Harris and Samuel
Sparwawk are the only boot and shoe manu-
facturers who escaped. The manufacturers
burned out are all understood to have been in
sured either wholly or in part. Whether they
will all rebuild or not is thought to be doubt
full. At any rate the effect will be to turn the
boot and shoe trade of the place to Lynn and
other neighboring towns for the present.
Outside of the boot and shoe factories and
buildings which have been mentioned, the
buildings burned were nearly all dwelling
houses. The entire loss will aggregate $780,
600, though it is as yet too early to give
anything but rough estimate. Our local in
surance companies are very light sufferers. AS
near as known the Shoe and Leather Insur-
ance Co. has an insurance in the burnt district
of $1,000; Commonwealth $1,000; Franklin
$4,000: Shawmut $4,000: Manufacturers $4,000;
Washington $500; Firemens $4,000; Prescott
$4,000.
Marblehead is town of about ZOO inhabi-
tants. The calamity which has thus overtaken
the ancient town has fallen upon it at time
when business depression had been so long set
tied there as to almost produce the conviction
that the town had seen its best days. 1t has
lately become serious question, apXiously dis
cussed among her trading men as to what move
in business direction would be most likely to
prove successful in imparting new life to its
stricken commercial interests. The boot and
shoe manufacture, has for some years
past been depreciating, until it is more uncer-
tain and relatively of less value than the old
time fishing interest upon which the town was
originally built. and now this visitation may be
thought the climax of long series of adverse
influences, sufficiently dscouraging to COM
pletely paralyze the industries of the place. If
this state of things should result. however, it
will be the first instance of the kind in New
England history.
gun here in the middle of the night and con-
tinued until extinguished by the efforts of the
firemen, with the aid from Salem, Lynn and
Boston, has swept nearly the whole of the bnsi-
ness portion OF the town out of existence. AL
though many dwellings were burned, fortunate
ly no great amount of suffering will be entail
ed, because the dwellings of the poorer classes
were not touched The fire began in barn
now used as grist mill, just back of Marble
head Hotel, on Pleasant street. Cause is as yet
unknown. The grist mill burned rapidly, and
from it the flames were communicated to the
hotel and small buildings in its rear. and from
thence to other buildings so rapidly that before
long it was beyond control. 1t spread
in every direction, both ways on Pleasant street,
and as soon as School street was reached the
ing destruction into other avenues. The hotel
soon vanished, also barn and stable in the rear,
the Gen. Glover engine house, and then a shoe
factory in its rear, owned by John S. Martin,
and occupied by Lyon. &c Donovan.
Other buildings burned as follows:
Pleasant street, northwest side-Shoe factory
owned by Albert A. Page and occupied by
Munroe Brothers, Jacob N. Crapley and Jona-
than I: Brown, machinsts; building owned by
Eli V. Bartlett and occupied by James Rams
dell, sole and leather dealer, and E. V. BARTLETT
& Co., manufacturers; Rechabite Hall, base.
ment occupied by Lewis r. Power, hardware.
first floor by Marhlehead Cooperative Shoe
Manufacturing Association, second floor by
VIM. A. Brown, soles and leather, and third
story by Rechabite Temperance Society, Sons
of Temperance, and similar organizations;
building owned by Thomas L. Paine and occu-
pied by William Caswell as grocery store and
dwelling house; dwelling house, owned by
William Humphrey; Eastern Railroad depot.
a fine structure built last year, together with
six passenger cars; dwelling and barn owned
by Benz. G. Hathaway and occupied by DR..
Knight and Samuel Cole, the barn being occu-
pied by Samuel Harris; dwelling owned by
Ell. f. Pitman and occupied by Mrs. Hasber as
boarding house; shoe factory OF Jonathan
Brown; drug store owned and occupied by
N. A. Lefavour, and adjoining barn owned by
the late DR.. Whittemore.
Pleasant street, southeast side-Drug store
OF Rufus Lefavour partly destroyed; dwelling
oWnCu ny Mios Oudpudu, uCCupitu ny OoOrSo
A. Green and Richard Reed; dwelling of Eli
Y. Bartlett; house and shoe factory owned by
Joshua Lefavour, in which were Forsyth's
saloon and Towards barber shop; dwelling
owned by j. II. Brown and occupied by For
syth Allerton; hall occupied as an armory by
the Sutton Light Infantry, Company c, 9Th
Regiment, and by Jonathan Fl. Omer, shoe
factory; Trisdens saloon; Geo, A. Green, shoe
factory; VIM. Davis, fruit store, and by the
Marbehead Messenger; hbuilding erected for
shoe factory, unoccupied.
School street, southeast from Pleasant street,
southwest side-3uilding owned by Joshua Lee
favour, occupied by Henry Lefavour as gro
Gerry store; building owned by Henry o. 81.
monds, first and second stories occupied by
hardware store, third story by reform club,
frame of New England House, contractor
Horace Gordon. loss $4,000, no Insurance.; sta
BILE occupied by VIM. Lamson.
School street, northeast side-The South
church, commonly known as the Third Con-
gregational church, basement occupied by VIM.
G. Gregory.
New YORK, June 25.-The insurance COM
panies sustain little loss by the Msrblehead
fire