Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1886-08-18
SWEPT BY FIRE.
Wisconsin and Michigan the Scene of
Fires Both Forest and Otherwise
Spencer in Ruins-A Loss of $50, 900
at Depere-An Entire Block at Sault
Ste. Marie.

was visited by the greatest fire since
the spring of 1882, when the business
portion was nearly consumed. About
$50 O'Clock the fire caught in William
Armstrong; barn, on George Street. It
then communicated to the shop and
barn of P. Jams. The alarm was
quickly given, but by series of acct
dents, it was fully half an hour before
the engines got to work. Then the
men had trouble with the rotten hose
A heavy wind was blowing at the time
from the southwest and q spark
caught on the spire of the Presbyte-
rian Church and burned like finder.
1t was only q few moments ere
thereof crushed in. Very little of the
contents was saved. Next DR.. Fisk's
fine brick residence fell q prey to the
fire, and the whole block, occupied by
substantial buildings, was soon g.
smoking mass of ruins. From here
the fire went east and consumed Jan
sens house, the barn and stables on
the fair grounds; then north for three
blocks, leaving ruin in it's path. Some
houses were saved by the efforts of
the iremen, but many barns were con-
sumed-in all fifty-one buildings were
burned. The heaviest losers are: p.
j. Jansen, house, saloon and stables,
valued at $4,000; insurance, 1900;
DR.. M. Ell. Fisk, house, barn, etc..
1900; DR.. A. M. Kerster, furniture,
$500; insurance $500; Presbyterian
Church, $500; insurance, 81, 44O; P.
JAMS house, barn and shoeshop,
81, 200; insurance, $500; VIM. Arm
strone's house, barn and machinery,
$4,000; Geo. Ehrman, house and barn,
ST, 800; no insurance; Peacock's
house and barn, 5000; Blood's
house and barn, $500; Pat
rick Lee, furniture, 5000; insurance,
$3.50; w. P. Gail, house and barn, ST.
200; Louis Sherring, house, $500;
Anton Leeber's house, $3.50; Mrs.
Haanen's house and barn, ST, 500; J.
B. Veltes' house, 5000; John Brook
man, house and barn, 81, 200; insur-
ance, $3.50; Hubert Vermulen, furni-
ture, $500; no insurance; John Beatty,
two houses, $1,000; Urban Ticker,
house, $500; no insurance; Albert
Martin, house and barn, 81, 900; A.
Selsmeyer, house and barn, $500;
August Fritz, house and barn
$1,000; Lawton, house, $500;
James McNamus, house, $1,000; in
surance, $1,1OO; Mrs. Ratsky, house,
500; Anton Sybers, house, $TOO;
Hannah and Tate's house and barn,
81, 900; Frank Van Tonquin, house,
$500; Bernard Peters, house and
barn, $500; James Campbell, house
and barn, $1,000; insurance, $7OO;
Thos. Maloney, $500. Besides the
above, twelve barns were burned,
worth on an average 500 each, swell
ing the total loss to about $4,000,
and this is g. low estimate.
A fire at Stevens Point, on the 9th,
destroyed the Robinson mill, on the
west side of the river, together with a
number of dwellings and barns. The
woods on the west side of the river
are burning for miles north and south.
The Lockwood III the river at Con-
ants rapids is burning. 1t caught
from the west side fires.
Forest fires are burning in several
directions about Wausau, Rantoul,
Brillion and Green Bay, but no i'm
mediate danger is unprecedented. The
smoke arises in such volumes as
to obscure the sun and at mid
day it is dark as twilight.
The fires are running over large ex-
tent of country north of Tomah and
doing much damage. Thousands of
acres in Monroe County were IN full
blaze on the 9th, which a strong south
west wind carried along at a great
speed. A large marsh between Tomah
and Tunnel City has been burning
three days. The fire has spread to
meadows, and all farmers in that part
of the country are fighting the fire. A
dwelling house and a. small mill, four
miles above Warren's, on the North
Western road, was burned with all
contents. It is feared that the entire
country between the North Western
and Green Bay roads, containing 5OO,-
100000 of lumber, will burn over,
Berry pickers about Warren's Mills,
Sunday, had to drive. hard to save
their teams. Trees burned clear to
the tops and are falling all the time.
The entire block facing Water, Cross,
Portage and River Streets, Sault Ste
Marie, Mich, was consumed by fire on
the 9th. All the buildings east of the
Chippewa House to Cross Street were
also burned. About one-half of the
property in the stores has been saved
in damaged condition. The build
ings burned include hotels, stores and
private dwellings, and are all in the
center of the town. Owing to the
poorness of the structure of the build
ings, but little insurance will be..re-
ceived.
A Neillsville, Wis.,, dispatch of the
9th is as follows: Fires have been
raging fiercely in the woods in this vi
entity for the past few days. At
Hewittville, ten miles west of here, the
sawmills and clearinghouse and all
the buildings connected Herewith, were
burned. Loss, $4,000; insurance,
$4,000. Several farm houses in the
neighborhood we're burned and many
families had to move into the fields
with their household goods, where
they spent last night. The fires are
still raging southwest and north of the
city, destroying grain and farm build
ings.
Marquette, Mich, was reported on
the 9th as enveloped in thick cloud