St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1889-05-02
A MIDNIGHT BLAZE.
Mrs. E. E. Woods Store at PaSSumpsic
Burned Saturday Night.

Mrs. E. E. Woods Store at Passumpsic
Burned Saturday Night.
A few minutes before II Saturday
evening fire was discovered in the
basement of Mrs E. E. Woods store
at Passumpsic and by 2 O'Clock the
store and all its contents were de-
stroyed. The loss is estimated at
$4,000. The insurance was carried
by P. D. Blodgett & Co., and con-
sisted of $500 on the building, $500
on the fixtures and $4,000 on the
goods. The store is owned by Mrs.
Woods but has been managed by her
brother, George Moreau, since the
first of September 1t was built
abut 40 years ago and was sub
stantial two story structure worth
at least $780, Mrs. Woods has
been in Boston for the past month
and did not reach home until Mon
day.
The fire was discovered by Curtis
Harvey and Nelson Rash as they
were driving home from St. Johns
bury. They Immediately awakened
George Moreau, who was in Mrs.
Woods house just north of the store.
The fire had progressed so rapidly
that when Mr.. Moreau attempted to
open the door the flames singed his
hair. All hopes of saving anything
in the store were abandoned, and
the fact that there was small guam
tity of gunpowder in the building did
not encourage the citizens to try to
save anything. The village by this
time was thoroughly aroused and
all worked diligently for the next two
hours to save the adjoining build
ings. The wind which was south all
day veered to the west before the fire
started and doubtless saved Mrs.
Woods house from the flames. The
house of H. A. Beerworth west of the
store was protected by a steady
stream from a force pump, though
even here the heat was so intense
that the paint is badly blistered on
the side of the house next to the
store. The school house on the south
side caught fire several times but the
flames were quickly extinguished.
Before the fire was well under way
exaggerated reports were telegraph
ed to Barnet and st. Johnsbury.
Many of the Barnet citizens thought
the whole village was on fire and
about a dozen teams were quickly
en- route to the scene of the supposed
conflagration. 1t was reported here
that Ide's mills were burning up and
the alarm for Railroad street was
rung IN and repeated enough times to
scare all the property owners there
and wake up several hundred people
all over town. The hook and ladder
company and the Railroad street
hose cart came out and were all ready
to take the midnight mail but did
not go down. Quite number went
down on that train, however, COM
ing back on the express about an
hour later
The cause of fire is unknown Mr.
Moreau thinks that it might have
been set from cigar stubs or possibly
from oiled rags or by rats. Either
might be possible. There was no fire
in the store during the day but there
were number of men in the store
smoking through the evening, and
there were oiled rags about prepara-
tory to painting the building. When
the store was closed at 9 O'Clock
everything was all right and at 10
O'Clock passer by reported the next
day the same condition. No signs
of incendiarism were found and it is
difficult to imagine that any one
would attempt to fire the store when
there was such high wind yet there
are circumstances which lead some
to fear that the fire was purposely
set
Mrs. Woods places her loss above
the insurance at about $4,000. The
fire comes just as the spring trade is
opening but as soon as the insurance
is settled Mr.. Moreau says she will
rebuild and before many weeks hopes
to greet all her old friends at the new
stand on the old site