The Redwood gazette. [volume] (Redwood Falls, Minn.) 1873-1940, 1895-04-18
THE TORCH !.
1t IS Applied to the Park Hotel at
1880 Last Monday
Morning.
The Building Is Completely Gutted,
the Sides Only Remain
Standing.
The Demon of InCendiariSm An.
plies the Torch in TWO
Places.

A hire occurred in the two-story
frame building on the corner of Bridge
and East streets, known as the Park
Hotel, at about 1890 o'clock last
Monday morning. The building was
utterly ruined by the flames. Indi-
cations point to incendiarism of the
most diabolical character.
The building was owned jointly by
Sylvester Davis and j. A. Beard, the
former having a three-quarters inter-
est and the latter one-fourth interest
in the structure and property.
The fire was first discovered in the
rear Of the building. 1t was issuing
out OF the coal vault, in which was
stored both bituminous and anthra-
cite coal. Smoke arising from the fire
and passing through the house into
the bedroom occupied by Mrs. Davis
awoke the latter, and, discovering the
flames, she gave the alarm, first
awakening her son. Sylvester was on
his farm in Sheridan township.
Young Davis dressed hurriedly, and
after getting outside noticed the
flames creeping rapidly over the rear
end of the hotel. An east wind gave
them speed. At the same time he dis
covered fire breaking out in the center
of the roof of the east wing, showing
that the building had been set in two
different places. The alarm was given.
Three occupants hurriedly dressed
themselves and got out as rapidly as
possible, taking all their chattels with
them. The department responded,
although many fremen were not dis
turbed from their slumbers, and con-
sequently the membership attendance
was not full. By the time the fire
company arrived on the scene the
flames had spread over the entire
building. When the department con-
cluded its labors the building was en-
tirely gutted and only the sides re-
NAMED. It was total loss.
Sylvester Davis carried $1,000 in
surance on his three-fourths of the
building and 81, 100 on his hotel fur
niture and fixtures. j. A. Beard car
ried $500 on his one-fourth of the
hotel, making the total insurance on
the structure $1,000 straight, in addi-
ton to the insurance on the household
goods. All of this insurance was in
the agency of Gleason & Beard, and
the Liverpool and London and Globe
Insurance Company, of London, Eng
land, has the greatest bulk of the in
surance. The New York Underwriters
is supposed to have a part of it.
Davis places the value of the structure
at about $4,000, $4,000 being his high
estimate, and says that the loss to the
household goods was about $1 900. A
GAZETTE reporter interviewed Beard
and he stated that the loss ON the
building would reach 81 500 a differ
ence of 81 500 between the joint OWL
ers.
Young Davis told a reporter that
there was positively nothing from
which the building could catch fire.
There was nota bit of fire in the stove
or in the house. The fact that it
started in the coal vault and in the
attic two different places is clear
proof, in his mind, that it was of in
cendiary origin. No motive for the
deed was advanced by him.
The building is the old Exchange
Hotel remodelled. When Beard sold
the Exchange site to the county he in
terested Sylvester Davis with himself
into removing the building off the jail
site and taking it to the corner OF
Bridge and East streets and remodel
ing it throughout. It has since been
conducted as hotel, with Sylvester
Davis as proprietor. The latter, when
seea Monday, entertained grave doubts
whether the hotel would be rebuilt.