The Somerset herald. [volume] (Somerset, Pa.) 1870-1936, 1889-11-27
The Fire Fisnd Visits Sioystoxn
Three of Her Best Buildings
in Ashes.
Believed to be ths Work of inoen-
diaries.

I QfariGSs
The little village OF stoyestown. one of ths
Oldest settlements in the county. was the
scene of disastrous fire at an early houl
sunday evening. The large three-story ssors
house and dwelling Of Peter J. Cover. the
handsome brick residence Of John II. sny.
der, and the frame dwelling Of Mr.. Frank
Taylor, an employe of the JohDstown Lum-
Der Company, were entirely consumed, and
ii was only after long and persistent strug-
gle on the part OF the brave men and women
Of the,own that they knew they had sue
ceeied in saving their homes from the
flames.
The night was one Of inky darkness, and
the denisens of the quiet little town had all
ret red at an early honr, only to have their
slnmber disturbed by the rude cry Of fire ]"
which came from the centre OF The towa.
Everybody rushed through the darkness in
the direction Of the cry as soon as they
could get into their clothes. and by the time
the first had reached the corner Of Main and
Somerset streets, the whole interior Of the
Cover store-room was discovered to be q
mass Of flames. The fire only required a
few minutes to eat It's way to the second and
third stories Of the big frame bnilding aud
to commuuicate 10 the residence of Mr..
Snyder adjoining.
Suddenly. when the flames in the Cover
building were raging their fercest, there was
an explosion that shot burning timbers forty
feet into the air and caused all OF the win
dow glass in the town to rattle. The report
of the explosion was heard in Hooversyille,
four miles distant, and hundreds Of people
from the country hurried TO the scene. guild
ed By the bright glare OF the fire Mean
while the flames bad leaped over Somerset
street and enveloped the residence ofChsrles
Taylor. and il commenced TO look as though
the entire town was doomed. Opposite the
burning building stands Clusters Hotel and
CAPTAIN Noah Bowman's mercantile house,
while across the alley from Snyder's stands
Hites hotel. To save these three valuable
buildings from destruction required the
hardest kind Of work Of all the townspeople,
and had il not been for the re enforcements
that were constantly arriving from the
township, in response 20 the alarm sounded
by the church bells, all would certainly
have been destroyed.
Captain Bowman opened his s.ore-room
and handed out his entire stock of blankets
and carpets, which were hurriedly nailed
over the exposed front Of his bailding and
onto which hundreds of bnckeis of water
were constantly thrown by eager men and
women. The safety Of his building is entire
" owing TO this novel way Of cOntending
against flames.
The Custer and Hite properties were saved
from destruction through similar efforts.
Meanwhile the old shop standing between
the burning residence Of Mr. Taylor and the
home Of Mrs. Mary Barnet was torn away
and the course Of the flames was checked
in that direction. The flames burned fiercely
until shout one O'Clock, when all danger Of
their spreading was past. Fortunately for
stoyestown all the buildings were water
soaked. owing 20 the protractei rains Of the
past week, and hardly a breath of air was
blowing throughout the time Of the FIRE;
otherwise the destruction would have been
much greater.
That the fire was the mad work Of incen-
diaries. there can be no doubt Mr.. Cover
says, There had been no FIRE in the store
room all day Sunday, and our family all re-
tired between and O'Clock. My wife
heard noise in the store shortly after 10
o'clock, and got up and started down to
see what was the matter. As | came down
the stairs leading 10 the kitchen saw the re-
nection Of a FIRE in the yard, It came from
the store and was quite large ran back to
tell my wife and awaken the family. We
all escaped in our night clothes and by the
time We reached the street the entire baild-
Ing was burning. | believe the building was
fired by robbers who took what goods they
wanted before they started the fire. had
only about two pounds Of rifle powder in
the store and am at loss TO know what
caused the explosion"
Mr.. Cover estimates his entire loss at s1S,-
500, on which he had an insurance Of s. O00
on goods. s.. 800 on properly, and Sl.Oo0 ON
furniture and fixtures.
John II. Snyder carried an insurance Of
50 500. which will not cover more than one
half his loss. Very few of his household
goods were saved.
Charles Taylor had $500 insurance on
his property, which is not nearly its value
Most Of bis household effects were carried
10 place of safety.
The damage TO Noah Bowman's building
and goods will reach in the neighborhood Of
500. Both were insured
Samuel Custer and John Hite suffered
loss Of several hundred dollars each. to their
buildings and great Inconvenience in having
all Of their household goods torn up and
carried out.
A number Of persons residing at Mr. Gus
ter's hotel who were the first to respond TO
the cry Of fire, saw two or three men hurry
ing away from the burning building and APP
pealed to them to assist in raising the alarm,
NliutNt EStclfiile hHr Art-oe TX t'oAaSc-
The Cover store was one Of the largest
mercantile establishments in the county.
and at this season OF the year was heavily
stocked with goods. Nothing was saved
from it or from Mr. Covers dwelling. The
postoffice was also located in this building
and all Of It's contents were consumed by
the flames.
Mr. Cover telegraphed Postmaster Gener-
al Wauamaker Of the destruction Of the Of
fc. at an early hour Tuesday morning. and
at once engaged a room in Clusters hotel.
where a temporary postoffiee viii be opened.
The Steyestown order of Odd Fellows,
6. A. Z Post and Sons OF Veterans Camp
occupied rooms on the third floor Of the Co
yer building. All Of their lodge furniture
was consumed. The Odd Fellows and 6. A.
r Post carried a small amount ofinsurance.
Republican Authority.