Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1886-12-30
NEWARK'SC0NFLAGRATI0N
THE LARSE DEAN JyOoLEN MILLS
IN ASHES.
a sInd 0Hsiopn Tor SEQ People who
" ere aseP"aaeeas On the MILLS for
SupPort--Aiao a.ssss Exceeds 5000. 900
Win AGl lDsnFastce Oa sI5a,5OO.

a sHnd DHtf.,1k tor SEQ People who
" ere aseF.aceas On the Mills for
SupPort+-Rih" a.sss Ex xceeds 5000. 900
Win An iDsnTaa,ce OA sI5a,5OO.
| -
| Special Correspondent, Of Gazette and journal
NEWARK, Dec. 26.It was an awful fate
| which dvcreed that the huge ny whe | of
the Corltss engile with lis innnnerahls and
complicated G ,nr@ IioGs IN the Dean wooien
| mills, and wGh temporarily ceased iis
| revolutions on Friday night ut 5.4b O'Clock,
| should never Resume Its revolving oourses.
| But such was the case, and a glance at the
| ruins this morning would readily convince
any one of the fact that irs career OF useful
! ness was terminated. member OF the
firm Of the Dean Woolen Company had
gone through these extensive works, which
were of course closed for the day
| (Christmas) at 8 O'Clock and found
everything safe. A long blast OF the steam
whistle gave to the people OF the town the
FIRST intelligence Of the presence OF fire at
the works. This alarm was sounded by the
watchman at 9.i0 O'Clock, Immediately
after his discovery of dense smoke In the
buildings. He aud the fireman at once
made unavalliug efforts TO enter the build
tngs but were repeat edly repelled by the
tmpenetrable smoke. The continued and
plaintive sound of the whistle soon aroused
the toWn-peopie end tie employees focked
to the scene en- masse aud weIs soon hs-
roically at work endeavoring to subdue the
fiames by the aid of buckets and fire.
hose. There was I'm interval, however, OF
perhaps 20 minutes between the first alarm
and the appearance of flames, though
every one on the scene knew that the build
tngs were doomed by the density of the
black smoke which poured through the
cracks and windows and prevented an en-
trance to determine the exact location OF
the fire.
The flames were first seen to leap through
the roof of building No. /. The hose was
soon gotten In order and strong stream
thrown on the burning mill. The workmen,
however, realized that their efforts were
hopeless, and turned the stream on mill No.
2, which was only about 30 feet south, and
separated by driveway and iron bridge.
This was saturated with water, but the
the strong northwest wind carried the
flames and intense heat to this building
which was fire proof" and soon ignited the
window frames and roof, and reduced IL to
ashes. Indeed the work of the flames was
SO rapid and fierce that In As minutes
after the flames first became visible every
thing combustible was consumed and only
the cracking walls remained as monument
over the mass of bent and broken iron,
which once composed the intricate and
costly pieces Of machinery used In the
manufacture of cloth. The destruction was
OF course hastened by the tnfiammability of
the material, which the fire encountered, for
every particle of woodwork In the building
was saturated with oil and grease, and
stimulated the flames, which Ieaped fuIly40
feet in tbs air. At 10 O'Clock the fire had
vented itself, and ON the arrival of the
Phoenix and Weccacoe fire companies at
that hour there was nothing to save except
the dye-house. to the east of the main build
ing, and this was saved by the united perse-
verence of the employees, who kept 1t COW
cred with water. The two fire engines then
played for several hours on the ruins to
prevent future outbreak.
The works were among the oldest and
best known of their kind In the eastern
states, having been in operation since 1s45.
The works were taken hold of by a stock
company of $3.50, 900 capital In 1882, and
the capacity doubled by the addition of
third story on building No. /. and the erec-
tion of mill No. on the south. No. is OF
stone with depth of 160 and a width Of 60
feet, together with three stories and base
ment. The first floor was occupied by the
finishing, engine and drying rooms; the
second floor was the card room and the
third floor contained the spinning mules.
The fire originated In the drying room on
the first floor and In close proximity to
the fire appliances, which were thereby
inaccessible during the fire. Spontaneous
combustion is generally supposed to have
been the cause. On the first floor was a
very heavy stock of finished goods in
kersey and other fine fabrics estimated by
member Of the firm at 20, 900 yards and 1t Ia
this heavy loss on stock that will so materi-
ally increase the total loss. Mill No. was
of stone and entirely, now In 1882 with a
depth OF 226 and width OF 50 feet with
two stories. The lower story Of this build
ing was fire proof and contained the chem
tcal and picking department. The second
door contained 60 improved looms, prob
ably aggregating $4,000 in value.
These ara all now ab1nlufalU xunrfb-
less, except for old iron. The
later estimates Of the total loss slightly
exceed 100000, while the insurance,
which is placed In 81 different companies,
will be about Sl5S, 500. although a complete
list OF the companies and amounts cannot
be ascertained. The companies involved
are principally In New England, New York,
Philadelphia and London, and with the ex-
ception OF the Farmers Mutual and New
Castle County Mutual, which hold respect
lively $4,000 and $4,000, there are no local
Companies concerned. The mills carried
and their monthly wages amounted
to over $4,000. Most of this
was spent in this town and there is conse-
quently a discouraging business outlook
Tor Newark this winter since fully 800 peo-
pie were dependent upon these mills for
support. This is more than one-third OF
the entire population of the town. Four
stons dwelling houses about 20 feet
sonth OF the mill were also completely
destroyed. The tenants were all emploved
ia the mill. Their household goods were
mostly saved. Augusta Thomas Of Philadel-
phia is president and William Dean score.
tary and treasurer of the company.
Kershaw Dean, in reply to EVERY EVEN
! d's correspondents inquiry concerning
the rebuilding of the mills, said: s'It Is still
q matter ofextreme uncertainty and a uues-
ton which cannot be definitely settled TIL n
meeting OF the stockholders is held" How.
ever hs gave some slight announcement to
the town that they would be rebuilt. The
1isiress fs being alleviated tonight among
the homeless people and they are now we'll
provided. 1t was indeed dismal Christ
mas for Newark and illusions were made
TO It in all the pulpits here to-day.
The Newark Hnsurances.
NEWARK, Dec. 27.--The insurance on
the Dean wooden mill foots up about
Sl67 600 OF this sum the Farmers
Mutual of this city, loses So, 900 and the
New Castle County Mutual $2 200. The
balance is distributed among the follow
ing companies Spring Garden, American,
Pennsylvania, Union, InsnranceIC company
IF North America. Fire Association,
Mccbanics' all Of Philadelphia; Germania,
Hanover, Phoenix, Citizens, Home, Com.
ntFcirl ''htou, German American, all of
S.w iUk Washington, Howard, Boston
nitrktl'ets all If Boston, T.tna. Of