The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1888-04-16
ANOTHER SERIOUS FIRE.
The Wheeling Hinge Factory
Damaged About $4,000.
MoSToF THE MACHINERY In 1T
The Wooden Building Continuing
the Costly Machinery Catches
from n Heating furnace and
Is Quickly Destroyed.

About o O'Clock Saturday night fire
broke out in the Wheeling Hinge fac
tory, on the corner OF Jacob and Nine
tecnth streets. The fire was in the
southern wing OF the building, an old
structure OF wood, the original factory,
and now containing most Of the fine ma
chinery used by the company. The
board sides were dry and the place sat
urated with oil, and the flames spread
with incredible rapidity, licking up the
building in which it started like finder.
By the time the fire department reached
tho scene the whole structure was
ablaze.
The nightwOtchman at the works,
Reuben Richardson, was in the north
end OF the warehouse, which fronts on
Nineteenth street, when some one cried
out "Thc factory is oil fire" He took
the fire alarm key hanging in the build
ing and ran to pull in box 81, but some
thing WIS wrong with his key or he was
nervous, Atany rate it would not work.
He then ran Tor the telephone. Officers
Carney and Gaus arrived about this
time, and Carney tried his key in vain.
That this was the fault OF the keys, and
not of the lock, was shown by the fact
that officer Gaus had 10 difficulty in
unlocking it with his key.
Valuable time was thus lost. II is
probable, however, that the building
could not have been saved under any
circumstances. As it, was, Chief Dun
ming, who was formerly foreman of the
works and knew something about the
location of the machinery, saw that the
best that he could hope to do was TO save
the warehouse adjoining, and The directed
the departments efforts to that and
other adjoining buildings. With rare
rood Judgment he kept the water OIL the
machinery, letting it cool gradually.
Had stream been thrown upon it while
hot it would have been ruined.
The Horkheimcr tannery, across Jacob
street, was heated nearly to the point OF
combustion once or twice, and when
water was thrown on il it steamed like
hot stove.
The brick warehouse Of the hinge
factory, and the new brick building west
of it were sayed. These contained only
n little machinery Tor washers, wire cut
tiers, butt machinery and the like. The
plating department, in wooden build
ing on the creek bank, the blacksmith
shop and the boiler house near, were
also saved.
The flames evidently originated from Il
small heating furnace recently built near
the wooden wall OF the house. The door
was said TO have been lett open, but in
some way became closed, and the heat
kindlcd the wood near the brick iur-
mace.
The hinge factory suffered pretty
heavily from fire II little over year
ago. The machinery damaged Saturday
night is valued at $4,000. How much
salvage there will hc can only be guess
cd, but it is probable the machinery is
not entirely ruined. The building cost
$1,000, and there was probably $1,000
worth OF partly finished stock in it.
The insurance upon the entire property
OF the company is $4,000, as follows:
Placed by the Peabody Company, $l5,-
900, in the following companies: Pea
body, s., 500; American, $500; German,
s., 500; Cooper, of Dayton, O., $500;
City Of London, $500; British-Ameri-
can, $3.50.
Jefferson, 5000; Hanover, Of New York,
$500; Imperial, Of London, $500;
Louisville, Of Louisville, s., 900; niagara,
of New York, $1,000; Hamburg Bremen,
1000, and Anglo-Nevada, OF San Fran
cisco, $1,000.
by the Franklin Company, ST., 900; in
the Franklin, 5000; Phoenix, OF New
York, $780, Insurance Company OF
North America, of Philadelphia, 81 900;
Hartford, OF Hartford, $500; British
American, OF Canada, $500.
BY J. V. l.. Rodgers, 5000; in the
Guardian, OF London, s., 900; Fire Asso.
citation OF Philadelphia, $1,000; Royal, OF
England, $1,000, and London * Ian
caster, OF London, $1,000.
This insurance is divided as follows:
On the warehouse, s. 900; machinery in
same, $1,000; stock, manufactured, I'M
manufactured and in process OF manu-
iacturc, $4,000; Office furniture, 500;
factory building, $1,000; machinery, en-
gines, etc, in same, Sl3,400; stock in
same $1,000; blacksmith shop, 500;
tools in same, 5000. This makes the in
surancc OH the burned building Si9, 400.
From 1l5 to 100 men are thrown out
OF employment by the fire.
The Hinge Company was organized as
far back us 1865 by number OF citizens
Of that day, among whom were NJ. L.
OFT, Samuel Iaughlin, A. W. Campbell,
J. A. Metcali, a. &. Robinson, Capt.
Mcclure, Capt Dunning, o. J. Crawford,
J. Morris, james NJ. Cecil, John Steel,
Lewis Jones and others, and began in a
small way tho manufacture OF strap and
T hinges. The company met with u
moderate degree OF prosperity and i'll Il
year or two enlarged its plant. Owing
to bad management, however, on the
part Of its superintendent, it practically
failed in 1881, and was rcorgmizcd soon
afterwards by scaling down its stock and
adding new capital. Since that time it
has struggled along with legacy OF
debt, but has all the time made progress
and was gradually working into a large
business in the way OF specialties, OF
which it had quite a number. It has
done the largest business in its history
thus far this year. Capt. G. J. Rawling
has been the president since its rcorgan.
ization aud j. G. Brady the secretary.
1t will be great misfortune to the
city and to q large number of people
employed in the concern il this blow
proves fatal to its prosperity.
Tie State Bar Meeting.
At the meeting OF the Ohio County
Bar Association Saturday afternoon, the