The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1889-11-27
Ten Million Dollars Worth of Property
in Lynn, Mass, Destroyed by Fire.
Acres ofthe Largest Shoe Factoriesi in the Coun-
try Licked Up by Flames. Whose Progress
Was Only Stayed at the Waters Edge.
A ScourgeofF Fire That Covered Square
Mile and Lasted Nearly Eight Hours.
Scenes of the Great Chicago and Boston Con-
flagrations Repeated-Names of Some of
the Principal Sufferers-0ther Fires.
BIG FIRE AT LYNN, MASS.

BIG FIRE AT LYNN, MASS.
A Square Mile of the City Destroyed, Entail
ing q Loss OF $4,000 900.
LYNN. Mass, Nov. 26.-Lynn. the city of
shoes. was visited this afternoon by the
greatest fire in its history, and, with two
exceptions, the ~conflagation is the most
disastrous that has ever visited New Eng
land. The exceptions are the great Boston
fire of 1872, which destroyed $780, OO. 900
worth of property, and the Portland fire Of
1866, which caused q loss of between S10..
co., 900 and s12. 600. 900. To-day's FIRE started
at 1855 A. M. ragged over eight hours. de-
vastated a square mile of the business Sec
ton of the city, and caused a loss estimated
at about $4,000 900. In fact, the greater
part of Ward A is wiped out, as regards the
important shoe manufacturing blocks and
prominent places of business.
The fire started In Mowers wooden
building, on Almont street, over the
boiler, and spread with such rapidity.
that the fire department. of the city
was powerless TO cope with it. This large
wooden building was soon doomed, and the
flames leaped across a narrow passage-way.
and communicated with the six.story brick
block, known as Mowers Block. When
Tho fro IN ithaca two briIdinoc cot wall
under way. it was evident a terrific con-
iagration would result. Almost simulta-
neously the four-story wooden shoe factory
of Bennett g. Barnard. on Contra avenue,
and the four-story wooden building on AL
mont street, caught fire. and, after a time,
a hurricane of flame was in progress. which
blanched the cheeks of all the spectators.
For eight hours the flames had full sway,
the efforts OF firemen and citizens seeming
ly being of no avail, although, of curse
they did valuable work.
The burned territory includes and is
bounded by the following streets: Almont.
Central avenue. at it's junction with Will
low; Union, from its junction with Broad.
to the Boyden Block, on both sides; Mt.
Vernon street, entire: Beach. on both sides
as far down as Lees lumber-yard; Wash
ington, from Monroe through to Union;
Railroad avenue; all of Exchange street;
Broad. from the engine-house,- on both
sides, up as far as the corner of Exchange;
Spring street. entire; besides dwelling
hnuGaS tnn nn,parnna tn mQntInn nm Suf-
folk, Amity, Sycamore and Beach streets.
Aid arrived from Boston. Salem. Marble
head and surrounding towns, but their
united efforts seemed to have little effect
on the hurricane of flame. Scenes of the
greatBoston and Chicago fires were repeated
in ali their horrors. Mothers fleeing with
babies in their arms, express wagons load
ing at business and ~dwelling-houses and
transferring goods to a place of safety, in
many cases a second removal being neces-
sary. After the fire had been in progress
two hours everybody declared it would not
stop until it reached the ocean. So it looked.
and such proved to be the case.
Four daily newspapers are burned out
the Item. Bee, Press and News-three of
which are issued in the afternoon and ono
in the morning. Three national banks, the
Central. Security and First National, to-
gether with the Lynn Institution for Saw
ings, located in the First National Block,
are all wiped out. Twelve of the finest
shoe blocks in the city are in ruins, and
about twenty-five stores. At this writ
ing it is impossible to state
how many dwelllng-houses are burned.
Tkau xrara n,nctlv noov1 L.
the poor class in the vicinity of Beach
street and the wharves. 1t is impossible to
give any estimate of the insurance, but
conservative estimates place the loss on
property at ten millions.
There were many narrow escapes from
accidents, but no fatalities are reported.
The high brick fire-wall on the b. +. Spin
ney Block served as a barrier to the further
progress of the flames up Union street after
that handsome structure was Quilted. The
most prominent blocks burned are as fol-
lows:
Almont Street-Mower's Block and the
block occupied by the Consolidated Adj
Unstable Shoe Company.
Central Square and CentralAvenue-Ben-
nett d Barnard's Block, Frller's Block,
the wooden block in which was located the
l(alll Z DOkth = . DAOSR o4o LII
brick block owned by the Daily Item.n
Union Street-B. w. Curriers' new brick
block. C. o. Beebe's brick block, b. +.
Spinney's brick block. a large wooden
building, occupiedby Titus Il Buckley;
EarPs Block, j. G.. Browns brick block,
Ashcroft's brick block. Kirkland brick
block, Buffum brick block, brick factory,
occupied by c.. j. Little IL Co.. and Cush-
ing x Downs; large wooden building, occu-
pied by c.. T.. Harwood and d. s.. Boynton;
the brick factory occupied by John ). Bart
lett Il Co.. and the wooden block of Z. L.
Eller. occupied as q machine shop and
planning mil.
Exchange Street-M. II. Abbott's wooden
block. the large Doak brick block, the wood
en- block corner of Spring street, the brick
block occupied by l.. s. johnson & Co.. the
First National Bank Block, and ten or
twelve small shoe factories, the entire
street being wiped ont.
factory. w. n. Breed & Co.'s fve-story
brick block. ". X. & A. II. Jones's five
story brick block, and eight or ten smaller
wooden buildings.
Beach Streets. n. Breed & Coz lumber
wharf and planing-mill, Ii. Potter & Sons
p%laning-mill, Joseph Breeds Sons lumber
wharf, five or six carpenter-shops and sew
eral dwellings.
The Central Congregational Church
burned to the ground between 6 and z o.
clock. The handsome First National Bank
Block cost S65. o00 to build. 1t is well in
sured. Located on the two top stories was
the O'Ford Club. which had the hand
somesf ciub-r0Oms in Essex county. Their