Reporter and farmer. [volume] (Webster, Day County, Dakota [S.D.]) 188?-1946, 1893-03-30
MILL DUST DID IT.
an Explosion of Mill Dust Does
Great Damage to Property
In Illinois.
shock Felt a Distance Of
Fifteen MILESTONE Fatal
ity Results.

..ak
The most frightful calamity in the
history of Litchfeld, H., occurred
lost week. 1t resulted in a loss OF
., 600. 900 worth of property and the
,oss Of a number of lives, probably
vrecking half the town and damag-
inp property for miles around. Shor'-
4 ~ after 3 o'clock in the morning fire
waS discovered in Kehler's plant OF
s,eam Touring mills, the largest of
tho kind in the world, located in the
southwest part Of the city. The fire
aonartment was scarcely aroused and
arrived on the scene when an TX
n,osion of terrific violence shook the
Garth for miles around, the shock ue-
iny felt even as far as Decatur, fifty
miles distant. 1t broke plate glass
ii dows in a majority of the stores
in the city, Frustrated almost every
one on the street, shook houses loose
from their foundations, and Jared
the machinery in the Litchfield car
and machine shops to such an extent
that work had to be suspended till
| the necessary repairs can be made.
II is supposed the fire originated
from a spark from a passing locomo-
tive, and the subsequent explosion
was caused by It's coming in contact
with the accumulation Of mill dust.
II looked AT one time as though the
entire south end Of town would be
! consumed; but the fire department,
after a hard fight Of three hours, man
aged to prevent the flames from
spreading.
The head millwright, John Carve
Of Waterloo, N. Y, attempted to
save his tools from the burning build
ing, but was stunned by the explosion,
thrown against the smoke stack and
mined there until burned to death,
his limbs being burned off. 1t is not
vet known that there were any other
fatalities, though a number Of serious
| injuries are reported.
A grain elevator adjoining the mill,
| containing a quarter Of a million
bushels Of wheat, burned to the
ground with its contents. together
with a doz:n Wabash freight cars
standing along the side track, which
was blockaded and telegraph wires
| disabled.
The mill was owned by Keller
Brothers of st. Louis, had a capacity
of 2,OO0 barrels of -four a day and EN-
ployed $50 hands. The insurance on
the mill and elevator was $3.50, 600.
The following persons were injured:
Thomas Donahue, head cut; Mrs.
Henry Steigel, arm crushed; Mrs,
Levi Hussey, arm cut: ID. b. Green
wald, badly cut. Andrew Duncan,
head cut; Mrs. V. III. Hoffman, leg
broken; Mrs. Z. Eichelroth, ST., head
cut.
Mr.. L. A. Smith, general manager
of the mills, placed the loss at $780,
900, while the insurance was about
$3.50, 600. Other losses are: Adolph
Newber, store and residence and
barns partially demolished, $4,000:
insured in part. Mrs. V. Hoffman,
three tenement houses; Charles Baker,
Peter Oller and Mrs. O'Neill, left
practically homeless: John Grass
store, Immediately east OF the mills,
almost entirely demolished. Upon
State, Riders and Kisham streets, the
principal business thoroughfdres OF
the city, nearly every plate glass
front was destroyed by the conclusion.
TheLitchfield new hotel was damaged
net far from 10000, while the New
York store sustained heavy loss.
More than 100 residences were dam
aged to a greater or less extent and it
lsimpossible to arrive at anything
ike an accurate estimate Of the sum
total Of the damages. Residences
several miles away in the country also
suffered slightly.