Evening capital. (Annapolis, Md.) 1884-1910, 1888-12-27
ACRES IN ASHES.
An Extensive Fire in Marble
head, Mass.
A TOTAL LOSS OF 100000.
The Entire shoe Misunderstanding Distsict
Burned {, the Ground. sixty Bnild-
ings Being Consumed Many Fam
lilies Homeless and In Want.

MARBLRuEAp, Mass, Dec 2S--The great
fire which started at 10 o'clock Christmas
night proved to be much more serious than
at first supposed Sixty buildings were
burned, and the less viii amount TO nearly
SG0o,0e0 The direct cause of the fire is not
known. The first warning was announced
by loud explosion of naphtha in store in
the business portion of the town The
alarm was quickly rung in, and imme-
diately followed by second and third.
When the fremen reached the burning
building it fell with a mighty crash.
1t was a wooden structure, and was
rapidly consumed The firemen did their
best TO hold the fumes in check, but their
Efforts amounted to nothing. The surrounds
ing buildings werc mere shells, and 1t
seemed as if everywhere "A spark fell a fire
started. In fifteen minutes from the time
the first alarm was rung in the entire bust
ness portion was n sea of flame. The fire
ragged fiercely, and the two companies were
wholly unable TO perform the work they
were called upon TO do. Assistance was
summoned from Lynn, Salem and Swamp
scott, and these towns quickly responded.
The entire shoe manufacturing district, the
principal business Of the town, was burned TO
the ground. Fully sixty buildings were con-
sumed. The people were frantic and rushed
to and fro as though crazed. The flames
spread with such rapidity that scarcely any
thing was saved. The tenants residing in the
dwelling houses were completely cleaned out,
and as they stood watching their homes con-
sumo they presented a pitiable sight The
fire, after demolishng the building in which
it started, swept directly across to Rechabite
Hall, which is totally burned From there
it swept over toward w. b. Browns house,
which marked the limit of the fire on tho
western side.
The wind was most fortunately light, but
the roaring mass of flame swept over TO f.
w. & j. w. Monroc's shoe factory on the
opposite side of Pleasant street. The building
was wooden structure, four stories high,
and was soon burned to the ground. In the
midst the shoe factory of Charles Reed, TO
the west, caught and was burned TO the
ground.
The progress of the fire was checked upon
this side at that point, but it swept uncon-
trolled to the eastward, and the flames soon
reduced Paines express Office to mass of
ruins Thus it continued. Sheds fruit stands
and small tenement houses were consumed
with rapidity 1t seemed as if the entire
town was doomed. By this time help from
Salem, Lynn and Swampscott arrived and
this response put new life into the cherries
workers The city was flooded with stran-
gers from all the surrounding towns.
| On Pleasant street the dwelling houses of
Nathan Pitman, Asa Blaney, the Boston and
Maine depot, Cole Brothers shoe factory, the
horse car station, Stacey's drug store, Jona-
i than Bourne's wooden factory, large struc-
I ture four stories high, and numerous small
/ buiings were reduced to ashes. On the OPP
/ poste side Joseph Lefavre's dwelling house,
/ H. O. Symonds' hardware store the Grand
+ Army hall and the fire department head
4 quarters, a magnificent brick building; the
/ Rialto block, c. Gregory's drug store, the Bos-
/ ton branch grocery store and the dry goods
store of George Graves were destroyed. On
4 Essex street the flames destroyed Allerton
/ hall and the immense wooden factory of f.
/ H. Woodbury., shoe manufacturers Aller-
4 ton hall is occupied as a shoe factory by JON
! athan Orne The factory of Jacob H. Crop
/ ley and Bro, on Essex street, Peaches shoe
/ factory and the houses of Dennis and Jacob
/ Pine were reduced to smoldering ruins.
On Spring street the fire swept on, destroy.
/ ing the residence and factory of William G..
/ Lefavre. Its progress was checked at the
Sewell Grammar school building Sweeping
across Spring street the flames consumed the
handsome dwelling Of DIR. Wbittemore.
Here the flames changed their course, and
sweeping on to Sewell street, completely de
stroyed everything in the rear of Pleasant
street, taking everything clean up on both
sides of the railroad track. The residences
| of Mr. Chamberlain and the late
Thomas f. Crossman, Paine's livery stables
Thomas Rix's fruit stand and numerous
small buildings were burned to the ground
At 3 o'clock the fire was under control
though yet burning flercely. This stolid old
burg in June, 1877, was visited by fire
| which swept over nearly the same district
During the progress of the present fire sew.
eral explosions were heard The number of
buildings consumed is estimated between
fifty and sixty. The loss is estimated at be
tween $500 600 and s60JOO0
Fully ! 800 men, res-nting at least 500
families, are thrown out Of employment, and
in many cases their families are homeless and
in want.
The historic old town Of Marblehead was a
part of Salem originally, but was made o
separate town in 1649, the year Charles
was beheaded, and at that time it contained
forty four families. Many OF the settlers were
from the Channel Islands, and their pecuI.
iarities of Language are still to be noticed
among the inhabitants At the beginning Of
the Revolutionary war MarbIehead was the
second town in Massachusetts, in population
and wealth. 1t. contributed a regiment
of 1000 men to the army, and at the end ol
the war there were 600 widows and 1,OOs
fatherless children in its population OF IesI
than 1900 nuring the war Of 1872 the frig
ate Constitution was chiefly manned by sail
ors from Marblehead. The town also sent
out great number of privateers, and wher
speace was declared it was found that 500 citi
9ens were held in England as prisoners oi
war
In the civil war it was the first town Il
send troops to Boston, and furnished alto
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