The daily gazette., 1879-02-03
SECOND EDITION
MI. Salem Church Burned .
Sad Result of a COnfdgration-AB Beau
tfui Church Destroyed.

Sad Result of a COnfdgrdtiOn-AB Beau
titui Church Destroyed.
The beautiful new Mt. Salem M. E..
Church, situated in North Christiana
Hundred, just beyond the limits of the
Seventh Ward, was completely destroyed
by fire, at an early hour on Sunday MORN
ing.
rhe fire was discovered shortly after
two o'clock, by Mr.. VIM. Law, who lives
close to the church, and who saw the
flames bursting out of the class room
windows. He Immediately got up and
! alarmed his near neighbors, who flocked
to the church, but they were unable to
make the slightest headway towards
checking the progress of he flames, as
the fire had obtaiued complete control of
the entire building. 1t was even impos-
| slble to go inside and rescue some of the
furniture, as one of the men thought of
making the attempt, but de listed when
he saw the blaze of fire that occupied the
interior of the church, and declared he
would not venture in single step for a
ten thousand dollar farm. In such a
| condition of affairs the men could do
nothing for the church, and their efforts
were directed toward saving the frame
dwelling of Mr.. John Law, Immediately
below the burning edifice, which for a
while was in imminent danger. The
roof, however, was soon saturated with
water, which almost Immediately froze,
and thus pro ected the house against any
further danger.
Meanwhile the fire in the church con-
tnued to rage fiercely, and the flames
mounted even to the top of the sixty
feet tower, burning every particle of
woodwork in their way. The light was
observed for miles around, and caused
an alarm to be sounded in this city, to
which the fire department responded, but
only the Delaware steamer and Friend
ship hose carriage went to the scene, and
they we're compelled to return without GO
ing into service, as no water could be
| obtained. Thus the church was left to
| the mercy of the flames, which contin-
ued to biaze until every piece of wood
work was consumed, and the heavy raft
ers that supported the root, gave way
one by one, and fell into mass of char
red debris to the ground below. The
ruin is complete, and when the day was
fairly ushered in, nothing remained of
the beautiful Mt. Salem Church but a
grim-looikng tower, and four smoked un-
slightly walls. At IL O'Clock the north
wall, which seemed to be more weaken
ed by the fire than the others, fell in
with heavy crash, and though the
others are still standing they are In very
precarious condition, particularly the
one on the east side, which is likely to
topple over at any minute.
The origin of the fire is matter of con-
lecture. The heaters were left in their
usual condition the night before, and it is
supposed that the high wind caused them
| to burn up to such an extent that the
pipes became so much heated as to set
fire to the wood work around some of the
registers. This is the only plausible the
ory, though some incline to the idea of
| lincendi arism, as it is said that several at
| tempts were made in years past to destroy
the old Mt. Salem church by hre.
This disastrous confagration strips the
Mt. Salem congregation of every vestige
of their church property. All their fur
nishings are destroyed, and the list in
cludes pulpit furniture, seats, floor car
pet, sofas, chairs, two organs, Zone nearly
| new singing-books, bibles, and Sunday
School library comprising nearly 1000
volumes. The silver communion service
was luckily saved, as it happened to be
at the house of one of the trustees, Mr..
John Mclaughlin.
The building was insured for 5000
S., ,5O0.in the Home, and So 800 in the
Hanover Companies, of New York both
represented 10y Plummer & Co.'s agency.
Only short time ago the pastor and some
| OF the Trustees desired to increase this
insurance to $4,000, but the majority of
the Board decided to wait awhile, feel
| ing that the church finances did not at
present warrant the payment of an in
| creased insurance premium.
Many OF the congregation did not
learn of the destruction of the church
until they came to attend the morning
service, and much grief prevailed when
| the sad truth became known to all. OF
course no service was held in the MORN
ing, but in the evening the congregation
united with that OF the Green Hill Pres
byterian Church, whose pastor, Rev.
Gaylord l.. Moore, kindly offered the
use of his church to the IL. Salem people
on Sunday afternoons and evenings, un-
til they can provide themselves with
another place of worship. This kind Of
fer was declined, ard for awhile the con-
gregation will probably worship at the
Y. NJ. G. A. rooms at Rising Sun in the
morning, and at Riddles Chapel In the
Ievening.
The official board of the church will
meet this evening. at the house of Mr.
John Miller, to decide upon the neces-
sary steps to be taken towards the i'm
mediate erection ct a new church.
1t has been less than year since the
erection of the new Mt. Salem Church
was commenced. The corner stone was
laid on the 29th of June last, and on Sun
day, Nov. Sd, 1873, the building was dedi.
Gated with appropriate cermonies, Rev.
DIR. Dasbiell officiating. 1t was one OF
the prettisst churches on the peninsula,
and was built with such close observ-
ance of care and economy. that Its total
cost, furniture and all, did not quite
reach $4,000. And best of all, everything
was paid for, only debt of 50 900 resting
against the church after its dedication.
The Mt. Salem people will endeavor,
as soon as possible, to erect plain and
iunpretsntious edifice upon the site of the
burned structure. To do this they will
be obliged to ask for the assistance of
this community, and it is earnestly hoped
that the spirit of generosity Tor which
towards the people of Mt. Salem, in this
time of their greatest need.