Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1882-03-27
BIG BLAZE AT RICHMOND
TRE LOSS OVER HALF MILLION

raE LOSS OVER HALF A MILLION.
Railroad Bridge, Tobaeco Warehouses,
Tenomsnts and Other Property De-
stroysd-Loss OF Life.
One Of the most destructive conflagra-
tions which ever visited Richmond-second
only to that which destroyed the business
portion on its evacuation by the Confed.
crate army in April, 1s65-occurred there
on Sunday, resulting in great destruction
Of property, the loss Of one life and sew
eral minor casualties. A number of poor
people are deprived of their homes and
household goods and the travelling public
vastly inconvenienced by the burning of
the mainbridge directly connecting the
Northern and Southern systems Of rail-
ways crossing James river at this point.
About half-past 13 o'clock noon, Sun
day, an employee of the Richmond s.
Petersburg railroad company discovered
small blaze near the southern end of the
company's long bridge over the James
river, and Immediately started to give an
alarm. In few minutes portion of the
fire department was on the ground, but
by the time it arrived the fire, aided by a
heavy gale from the southwest, had made
such rapid progress that the bridge was
wrapped in flames, and in less than half an
hour the whole structure fell-a mass OF
ruins-inro the river, leaving nothing
standing but the granite piers.
The bridge was originally built in 1888,
and was destroyed BY fire at the time OF
the evacuation of Richmond and rebuilt in
1866. It was Howe truss structure of
the old style, with trunk about eighteen
feet deep, upon which the track was laid.
To the combustible nature Of the bridge,
combined with the high wind, was due its
swift destruction.
When the flames reached the Richm ond
end they Immediately seized upon the
large four-story brick tobacco factory OF
T. NJ. Rutherford g. Co., which also fell a
victim to the devouring element. From
that point the fire continued to spread
with frightful rapidity, attacking and lay
ing in ashes in quick succession the large
brick tobacco factories of r. A. Patterson
& Co., T. c. Williams s. Co., the three
tobacco stemmeries of. A. Hutchins, two
stemmeries of C. r. s. F. D. Barks. the
stemmery of Aborn s. Edwards, the Vul-
can iron works, operated by Bruce &
Archer, twenty tenement houses occu
pied by poor people, about 800 feet of
trestle work connecting the Tredegar iron
works with the Richmond & Peters
burg railroad, ten new freight cars belong
ing to the Tredegar company, T. P.
Smiths grist MILL number of other
minor buildings and a quantity of coal
and lumber at the southern or. Manchester
end of the bridge. The Virginia mining
and manufacturing company's kaoline
works were also destroyed.
Tho total loss is now estimated at be-
tween $500, 900 and $500, 900, about half
of which is covered by Insurance.:
When it became evident that the bridge
was in imminent danger second and third
fire alarms were sounded, and the whole
department was called out, but their ef-
forts were entirely futile, fighting as they
had to do against the fierce winds, which,
driving the flames. cinders and smoke into
their faces, forced them back, foot by foot
from its fiery path. At las p. m. Mayor
Darlington telegraphed to Washington
for assistance from the fire department of
that city, but later, when the fire was
finally gotten under control, another tele-
gram was sent to Washington to that
effect. The Washington department had
responded promptly and had embarked
several engines on special train when no.
titled that their service was not needed.
Charles Belts, aged Is ears, was killed
by a falling wall. Two men, names un
known, are reported buried in the ruins of
Patterson's factory. Isaac A. Gentry,
bookkeeper of tho same factory, barely
escaped suffocation in the building, and
had to jump from the window, hulting
himself severely.
Fires at Other Places.
Tho Chaplin House, large hotel at
Munson, Me-, was burned.
. 8. s. Bent s. Sons iron foundry, ut Port
Chester, N. Y, was destroyed by fire.
Tho furniture factory of Diemal Bros. &
Miller, at St. Louis, burned on Saturday.
Loss, 100000.
Schenthaps cracker bakery to the extent
of $3.50
A fire at Clifton Hall, Randolph county,
Mo-, destroyed all the business portion Of
the town except one store. Loss, $50 900.
the explosion of can of coal oil which
Ohio. When the disaster happened an
named George Riblet was seriously in
JuAC0 W CAO SopolLAhk Vi dbu CukluCs
The residence of Ex-Governor Redfield
Proctor, at Sutherland Falls, VT, has
been destroyed by fire. Most of the fur
niture, the valuable library, paintings and
family relics and some important papers
were burned. The house was unoccupied,
the owners family spending the winter in
Boston.
By an explosion of gas in the Laurel
Run mines of the Delaware and Hudson
coal company, at Parsons, near Wilkes.
barre, on Saturday night; James Ashford,
James Williams and William Scoville were
badly burned. The latter cannot recover.
John Lewis, we'll known politician of
Scranton, was killed on Saturday even.
ing while firing blast in the Hampton
mines.
Tragedies OF the Rail-
Eli Steckel, ofthe Coplay iron company's
works, was struck by q freight train near !
Coplay and received very serious injuries.
Jacob Birch, aged 65, was struck BY
passenger train East Pennsylvania railroad
about four miles above Reading and in
stantly kill ed.
Joseph Neyhart, a merchant from Nevin,
county, jumped from a pas
senger train on the Lehigh Valley railroad
at Wilkesbarre and was struck by 10.
comotive passing in the opposite direction,
receiving very serious injuries.
A freight train on the Chesapeake and
Ohio railroad fell through the bridge west
Of Clifton Forge, Va, on Saturday, kill
ing the engineer and fireman and injuring
several others.
The rear car of passenger train on the
East Tennessee, Virginia and Georgia rail