The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1889-07-02

burned through the floor. When the upper
part OF the walls fell the upper floor went
down with them. Floods of water
poured through the building into the
base nents and Into Cohen's and Byck e.
Sons stores. Mr.. Miller said during the
fire that be did not think more than 500 Of
the stock would be saved, but at midnight
Chief Fireman Puder went through the
lower part OF the building and found that
the finest carpets, which were close to the
dividing walls, were very little, if any,
damaged Mr.. G. p. Miller was at Guyton,
having gone out before the fire started Mr..
A. j. Miller. the senior member OF the firm,
Is in Atlanta.
Besides Miller's establishment, COhen's
and Byck & Sons stores are total wrecks.
The store occupied by Byck e. Son is
owned by the estate Of EdmonstOn, and is
leased by Lowell & baltimore, who subet
10 Byck & Son, Lowell q baltimore occu-
plying the rear part Of the store on Congress
street lane as a warehouse. Their
loss Is not heavy, and is fully covered by
insurance.
THE BURNED BUILDINGS.
The site of the burned block is that form
erly occupied by the Mansion house, one Of
Savannah's old hotels. The hotel was
four-story frame structure fronting on
Whitaker street. 1t had a wide piazza
NIASu Hdh u uOlbU place LOT people 10 meet
at night and discuss the news of the day
In those days there were no railroads, and
as the stage coaches from Charleston, Au-
gusta and Darien rolled in everybody
gathered about the hotel to learn
from travellers what was going on in the
outside world. The Mansion house it Is
stated, was built after the great fire of
1870. The last proprietor was Peter Wilter-
berger, who kept il and the old City hotel
N he ba 70 70
the late A. A. Smetts, well-known lumber
merchant of that day, but he reserved the
building, which he had taken down and re-
built at Bonaventure, then bis prop
erty, where it stood, few
hundred feet south of tue
southern line Of what is now used as the
cemetery, until the city was occupied by
Sherman's army, when 1t was burnt by mis-
soldiers
Mr.. Wiltberger soon after built the Pu-
laski house, or more properly improved
number of adjoining buildings and turned
them into hotel, which, under his and his
sons, the late Maj. w. H. Wiltberger,
management, became one of the best known
hotels in the country.
SITE OF THE OLD MANSION HOUSE.
Mr.. Smetts as soon as he came into
possession of the Mansion house site,
built the block of buildings which were par
Jlally burned last night AT the time they
were erected the location was considered a
little too far south for business purposes,
and for many years all the property in the
neighborhood was occupied as residences
AT his death Mr. Smetts left the property
to his children and grandchildren, Mr.. II.
J. Thomasson being his trustee, and it is
still so held
The store occupied by D. b. Lester is
owned by Mrs. A. e. Edwards.
The store occupied by S. w. Branch, by
Mrs. r. M Orme.
The eastern store. occupied by A. ].
Miller a. Co., by Miss Reeves.
The western store, occupied by the same
| firm, by Miss Pauline H. Smetts.
The third store, occupied by Jacob Cohen,
by Mrs. w. w. Paine.
The property is well covered by insur-
ance, the exact amount of which is not
known. but it is supposed to be about
$4,000.
FUND FOR wIEHR's FAMILY.
A fund for the family of the dead fire.
man, Wiehrs, was started from McGrath g.
Co.'s store while the fire was still burning,