Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1889-12-05
LYNN IN ASHES.
The Great Massachusetts, Shoe
City Nearly Wiped Out.
4 Square Mile of Territory, Including the
Best Business Portion, Destroyed.
Involving a Loss Estimated at
Fully 01O,OOO,OOO.


city of shoes, was yesterday afternoon
visited by the greatest fire in its his
tory, and with but two exceptions, the
most disastrous which has ever visited
New England The exceptions were the
great Boston fire of 1878, which de-
stroyed between eighty and ninety mill
ions of dollars worth of property, and
the Portland fire of 1866. which caused a
loss of between ten and twelve millions.
Yesterdays fire started at 11:55 a. M;
ragged over eight hours; devastated a
square mile of the business section of
the city, and cause loss estimated at
$4,000, 600. In fact the greater part of
the Fourth ward is wiped out, as regards
the 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 excellent 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 these two build
ings got we'll under way it was evident
that a terrible conflagration would re-
suit. Almost simultaneously the four
story wooden shoe factory of Bennett &
Barnard, Central avenue, and the four
story wooden building on Almont street
caught fire, and when under way hur-
ricane of flame was in progress which
blanched the cheeks of all who were
looking on. For eight hours the flames
had full sway, the efforts of firemen and
citizens seemingly being of no avail.
The burned territory is bounded by
the following named streets: Almont;
Central Avenue at its junction with Will
low street; Union street from its juno
ton with Broad to the Boyden block. on
both sides; Mount Vernon street entire;
Central Square entire; Beach street on
both sides as far down as Lees lumber
yard; Washington street from Monroe
through to Union; Railroad avenue; all
of Exchange street; Broad street from
the engine-house on both sides up as far
as Exchanges: Spring street; besides
dive lling-houses too numerous to men,
ton on Suffolk, Amity, Sycamore and
Beach streets.
Aid arrived from Boston, Salem, Mar
blehead. and other surrounding towns,
but the united efforts seemed to have
little effect on the hurricane of flame.
Scenes familiar in the great Boston and
Chicago fires were repeated in all their
horrors-mothers fleeing with babes in
their arms, express wagons loading at
business and dwelling houses and trans
ferring goods to places of safety, in
many cases a second removal being
necessary, and the utmost confusion and
alarm prevailing.
The excitement increased and became
a panic as it was realized that con-
fagration threa tening the entire bust
ness quarter was in progress.
After the fire had been burning two
hours everybody agreed that it would
not stop until it had reached the ocean,
and this proved to be the case.
Four daily newspapers are burned out
tho Item, the Bee, Press and News,
three afternoon and one morning.
Three National banks-the Central,
Security and First Acknowledgements
with the Lynn Institution for Savings,
located in the First National block, are
all wiped out. Twelve of the finest
shoe blocks in the city are in ruins and
twenty-five stores.
At this writing it is impossible to say
how many dwellings are burned. The
houses destroyed were those mostly oc
-cupied by poor people. in the vicinity of
Beach street and the wharves. 1t is i'm
possible as yet to estimate the insurance,
but conservative estimates place the loss
on property at $4,000, 600. There were
many narrow escapes from serious inju-
ries, but no fatalities are reported. The
I, ~,
block served as barrier to the further
progress of the flames up Union street,
after that doomed structure had been
Quilted.
The most prominent blocks destroyed
are as follows: On Almont street:
Mowers block and the block occupied
by the Consolidated Adjustable Shoe
Company; Central and Central avenue,
near Bennett & Brainer's block; Full
ler's block: the wooden block, in which
was located the Daily Bee; Bergen
Green's block, and the brick block
owned by the Daily Item. Union
street: B. w. Curriers' new brick block;
C. o. Beebe's brick block; B. Z. Spin
ney's brick block; large wooden
building occupied by Titus Il Buckley;
Earl's block, ]. G. Browns brick block,
Ashcroft's brick block, Kirtland's brick
block, Buffum's brick block, the brick
factory building owned by c. j. Little q
Company and Cushing & Downs large
wooden block occupied by c. HARDWOOD
and ID. S. Boynton; the brick factory
building occupied by John S. Bartlett &
Company; the brick and wooden block
of E. E. Elder, occupied as a machine
shop and planning mill.
On Exchange street: NJ. III. Abbott's
wooden block; the large Doak brick
block; the wood 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
out
On Broad street: Sawyer & Chase,
carriage factory; w. F. Breed & Co.'S
iye-story brick block, and eight or ten
smaller wooden buildings
On Beach street: S. N. Breed & Co.'S,
lumber wharf and planning mill; b. Pot
ter & Sons planning mill; Jos. Breeds
Sons lumber wharf: five or six carpen-
ter shops and several dwelling houses.
The Central Congregational Church
was burned to the ground between six
and seven o'clock. The handsome First
National Bank block cost S65, 900 to build.
1t was we'll insured. Located on the
two upper stories was the Oxford Club.
They had the haudsomest club rooms in
Essex County. and their loss is about
$1,000; well insured.
The First Methodist and First Uni
xors,l;St Cburcb apd Saypral school